Tembisa mob attack: Sixth man succumbs to beating and stoning
It’s understood that angry residents, taking the law into their own hands, targeted the men for allegedly committing crimes in the area, including muggings, housebreakings, and rape.
FILE: Police tape at a crime scene. Picture: Thomas Holder/Eyewitness News
JOHANNESBURG - Eyewitness News has learned that a sixth man died after being beaten and stoned in a mob attack in Tembisa.
The community is still reeling from the vigilante attack, allegedly by angry residents who took the law into their own hands in the early hours of Monday morning.
It's understood that the men were targeted for allegedly committing crimes, including muggings, housebreakings, and rape.
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While a sense of calm has been restored, residents of Rabie Ridge told Eyewitness News that the terror began on Sunday night - as the community rounded up people that they suspected of committing crimes by beating one after another and forcing them to point out their fellow gang members, whom they accused of terrorising the community.
“We heard whistles from around 11 at night, and the community came out - that’s when we heard screaming, and they began hitting them with cricket bats,” said an eyewitness.
What followed was a grisly scene. The six men had their hands bound and were stoned to death by the very people they call neighbours.
In a few hours, it was all over. Five men died on the scene while it’s understood the sixth victim succumbed to wounds in hospital.
THE AFTERMATH OF THE MOB ATTACK
What remains of Monday's deadly attack are torn-off pieces of police barricade tape - while a large rock covered in blood can be seen where the men lost their lives.
As police and Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department patrolled the area, one community member said they could not be blamed for defending themselves against the thugs.
He described the violence as a final warning.
“I feel like it [crime] will go down and now they will start to respect the people and I encourage the community to continue…because if the community is not united, they [criminals] get an opportunity [to commit crime].”
Residents in Rabie Ridge like many communities in the country feel let down and neglected by those in power.
At the mercy of criminals and overrun by crime, drugs and unemployment - they resorted to the extreme.
Added the Rabie Ridge resident: “These people are heartless…they rape…”
No arrests have been made.