Three brothers shot dead at their Motherwell home

Three brothers were shot dead in Motherwell, Eastern Cape, on Wednesday leaving residents in the street shocked by the  killings. 

Police spokesperson Capt Gerda Swart said the owner of a house in Mlele Street heard several gunshots at about 8pm but did not go outside to check.

“After hearing a vehicle driving away, the owner emerged from his house,” she said.

“He discovered the body of his son, aged 24,  lying at the entrance of his flat at the back of the property.”

Swart said the bodies of the man’s two other sons, aged 17 and 21, were found inside the flat.

“All three victims were shot in the head,” she said. 

The provincial organised crime investigation unit is investigating the case.

“The motive for the murders is yet to be established,” she said.

Swart said a case of murder and attempted murder in 2021 at the same address was still under investigation.

The victims’ family declined to comment.

Neighbours said the shootings started when load-shedding kicked in.

One neighbour said it was not the first time that the family living in the house had been shot at.

“There were no screams heard while any of this happened,” she said.

“We just heard the father sobbing, asking what he was going to do with the bodies of his children.

“I could not sleep. They grew up in front of us.

“We never imagined they would die like this. “Whoever did this came to kill them.

“We can’t begin to imagine the pain the father must feel.”

Another resident said: “This is scary because we have children at our own homes.”