Cape Town, South Africa –
Two suspected drug merchants and their teenage girlfriends were gunned down in what is believed to be a hit.
The four were killed in the early hours of Sunday morning after a fun night out on New Year’s Eve.
Police say gunmen opened fire on Wendle Tarentaal’s car in Chestnut Way, Belhar.
The four were declared dead at the scene.
According to residents, Chestnut Way is known for “shootings and drug activities”.
The two teenage girls, Stacey-Lee Visser and Kaylen Visser, both 17 years old, were also cousins.
Kaylen was engaged to Efraim Presence, 24, while Stacey-Lee and Wendle had been going out for a while.
Police confirm that both girls were from Rosendal, Delft, while the men were from Belhar.
It is not the first time Tarentaal has been in the news – in October 2015, his girlfriend and brother were killed while his mom was critically injured when rival gangsters opened fire on his car.
The self-confessed Terrible Josters gangster claimed he was being targeted by the Sexy Boys gang for being a witness in a court case.
Tarentaal, his mother Edith, 41, his younger brother Eugene, 12, and his girlfriend Megan Uys,16, had just left his grandmother’s home when they were ambushed on the corners of Eric Drive and Edison Street, Belhar.
Tarentaal, who was driving the vehicle, escaped unharmed.
According to a police source, this was the fifth, and final, attempt on Tarentaal’s life.
Meanwhile Facebook messages poured in for the girls from bereaved friends.
Jamie J’Mee Steer wrote: “So it’s a new year and I say goodbye to two friends I can truly call sisters Stacey-Lee Varushka Visser and Kaylen Kalz Visser. May your souls rest in peace. Till we meet again.”
Police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Andrè Traut confirmed the shooting.
“On Sunday morning at 3.35am, four people, two males aged 24 and 26, and two females both aged 17 were shot and killed in Chestnut Way, Belhar, by unknown suspects who are yet to be arrested,” he said.
“The victims were inside a vehicle when they came under attack.
“The circumstances surrounding the murder case are under investigation and the motive is yet to be determined.”