Netcare 911 confirmed that they attended to a mass shooting incident in Vanderbiljlpark, where a man, Tom Phaladi (Other newspapers say Tony Palatsi), went on a mysterious shooting spree in his BMW X5 on Tuesday night.
Phaladi killed 2 people and injured many people before committing suicide at a nearby filling station. The motive of his rampage are unknown.
Circumstances sorrounding the incident are that Phaladi first hit the manager at a slap chips outlet inside Vanderbiljlpark Convenience Centre, before stepping out and shooting the trapped man.
He then shot at people in the chips outlet. A car guard who escaped the shooting, Siyabonga Mvo, said he saw one of the customers in the shop lying on the ground. Mvo had been standing with the manager who was killed.
Phaladi got back into his car and drove to Killarney Hotel, about 1.3km away, where he shot another man in the head.
The guard, Mvo, told the Sowetan Newspaper that he rushed to the police station which is opposite the shopping Centre, where he met 5 policemen who were walking out of the station.
With the police chasing on foot, Phaladi drove to Sharpville Global Filling Station, where he walked out of his car with a gun in his hand.
In CCTV footage that went viral on social media yesterday, Phaladi can be seen walking around for a few seconds before shooting himself in full view of the terrified garage customers.
The Vaal Journal reported yesterday that the boy who was shot and has since passed away was 18-year-old Nathan Hebler.
The other man who died was a carguard at a hotel, Willie Kriel, who was shot in the head while walking with his friend.
The unnamed friend who witnessed the hotel shooting said Phaladi stopped his car and said ‘Hey You’, before shooting Willie.
Phaladi’s brother refused to comment.
Earlier reports that Phaladi had killed his wife and children were dismissed as false by Police Spokesman, Cpt Kay Makhubele.
Please read the full story in today’s Daily Sun and Sowetan Newspapers.
