The murder of a young Durban man has sparked outrage in the south Durban suburb of eManzimtoti.
|||The murder of a young eManzimtoti man has sparked outrage in the south Durban suburb, with hundreds of residents meeting on Sunday to discuss ways to tackle crime.
Stephen Coetzee, 22, was shot dead outside his home on Friday evening as he was fixing his car.
The thugs approached him in his driveway in Umdoni Grove, Warner Beach, and threatened Coetzee with a gun before trying to steal his Ford Fiesta.
They reversed into a wall, at which point Coetzee threw a spanner at them. An altercation ensued and he was shot in the head.
He was taken to Kingsway Hospital and died later that day. No arrests had been made by Sunday.
About 300 residents met on Sunday and, assisted by the private Crime Community Prevention Organisation (CCPO), will now put together a petition which will be handed to the area’s police station commander.
Ward councillor Andre Beetge said private law enforcement agencies had made a “tremendous difference” in the area and without them there would be “anarchy”. He called for greater community participation in fighting crime.
Beetge urged residents to get involved in fighting crime, but emphasised that they should not take the law into their own hands.
“What they should do is turn the talk into action by getting to know their neighbours and acquainting themselves with their immediate environment.”
“People always think: ‘It’s not going to happen to me,’” said Quinton Rutherford, a CCPO committee member. “Hijacking is not the only problem; housebreakings are also a problem.”
- Daily News