Mitchell’s Plain police and the mother of slain Lindsay Scott, 31, are appealing to the community to come forward with any information that could lead to the arrest of his killer.
Speaking to the Plainsman on Thursday June 15, a distraught Dawn Scott of Rocklands said she was at home when her younger son, 29, came to tell her at 2pm on Wednesday April 26 that Lindsay had been shot.
“I immediately ran out of the house after my youngest son. When I came closer, to the scene I saw that close to 12 people were surrounding Lindsay, who was on the ground. The police were busy cordoning off the area.” She discovered that her son had been shot seven times. “He was hanging out with a couple of people who are believed to be affiliated to the Americans gang.”
Captain Ian Williams, spokesman for Mitchell’s Plain police, said the shooting took place in Capricorn Street in Rocklands and that the deceased was declared dead on the scene. “Allegedly the victim was walking in the road when suspects shot at him from a Toyota Quantum minibus while it was in motion. The suspects fled the scene after the incident. The motive is gang-related. The deceased is, however, not a gang member. Nobody has been arrested. Police are investigating a case of murder.”
Ms Scott said she became hysterical and fainted when police would not allow her near her son’s lifeless body.
“I woke up in the ambulance. The shock of seeing my son on the ground lying on his stomach like that was too intense for me to handle. A mother is not supposed to bury her child,” she said.
Ms Scott said there were many people who saw what happened but were afraid to speak to police due to the crime allegedly being gang-related.
Two weeks after the shooting she contacted the police for an update but they said they were still busy with the investigation.
“I want to appeal to the community to come forward. We need closure. We believe Lindsay was shot because the perpetrators believed he was a member of the gang. His death is a case of mistaken identity. How can they just shoot innocent people like that? He was shot in such a cowardly manner.”
Ms Scott said a bystander said he had tried to say something before he died.
“We were very close and I think he was calling for me. The image of him on the ground calling out for me plays over and over in my mind. I don’t want revenge; I want justice. I have forgiven the killers but I believe they must be brought to book.”
When quizzed about her son, she admitted that he had been using drugs but stressed that he was not a gangster. “He had a difficult life growing up and I believe he used drugs to deal with his emotional pain. He worked as a car guard at the BP petrol station in Westridge,” she said.
She said her son was well-loved and would often bring home stray dogs. “His funeral, at the the New Apostolic Church in Rocklands was well attended with many elderly people coming to pay their last respects. He had a very good heart and he told me before he died that he wanted to change his lifestyle and seek rehabilitation for his substance abuse. This is the first-time I have lost someone so close to me. On my birthdays, he would always visit me. His present was his presence.”
Anyone with information about the incident can call Detective Sergeant Bradley Schuurman on 082 777 8076.