Watch: Moment 14-year old boy is shot in the mouth in Hangberg protest
By: Aphiwe Deklerk And Nashira Davids
A 14-year-old Cape Town boy will have to undergo surgery to have a rubber bullet removed from his mouth after he was shot by police officials during protests in Hout Bay‚ Cape Town on Tuesday.
According to his mother‚ Pinky Dubula‚ her son Ona was at home wondering what the commotion in Hangberg was all about.
Minutes later he was cowering behind a barricade next to a woman when an officer opened fire.
In a video of the shooting‚ filmed by Hout Bay Photography‚ a police officer can be seen walking up to barricade and opening fire at close range.
Ona comes out from behind the barricade bleeding from the mouth and clutching his side. He can be seen removing what appears to be a rubber bullet from his mouth before slumping over.
Residents can be heard shouting at the police for shooting at the boy with some demanding to know why they had shot him.
Someone shouts that an ambulance is needed. None of the officers can be heard or seen calling for medical assistance.
A distraught Dabula spoke to TimesLIVE on Wednesday as she waited for her son to be taken to theatre at Groote Schuur Hospital.
She said a policeman took aim at the woman but Ona was hit in the ribs.
"…The white officer came again and shot him on the mouth. There were two bullets in his mouth. He managed to remove one but the other is still stuck under his tongue‚'' said Dabula.
Police spokesman FC van Wyk said police: "It is alleged that a 14 year old boy was injured during the protest action and was then taken to the Fire Station for treatment. We urge the guardian and/or parents of this boy to come forward to open a criminal case to be investigated."
Protests began in the Hangberg community of Hout Bay on Tuesday afternoon.
Residents have said they are angry about the decreased allocation of fishing quotas.
Others have expressed anger over lack of services in the community.
- TimesLIVE
Source: TMG Digital.