No arrests have yet been made in the fatal shooting which claimed the life of a young Wentworth man, 19-year-old Samuel Emmanuel Hughes, and left two of his friends injured on 17 October, in Newlands East.
Lucken Hlenti and Tresegay Barnes, aged between 19 and 26 years old, sustained gunshot wounds and were rushed quickly to hospital. KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson, Captain Nqobile Gwala, said that the incident took place at 3am on Seabass Road in Newlands East.
She said it was alleged that they were shot by unknown people. “A 20-year-old sustained multiple gunshot wounds on the body and was certified dead at the scene. The other two victims were rushed to hospital for medical attention. Two counts of attempted murder and murder were opened at Newlands East Police Station for investigation.”
It is alleged that the three young men were visiting in the Newlands East area and are believed to have been shot in an alleged case of mistaken identity as the trio were known to be good guys in the community. A week prior to the Newlands shooting, another Wentworth teen, Ryan Anele Smith, 16, was killed in a drive-by shooting while on his way to a local tuck-shop, on Landsdowne Road in Wentworth. Smith sustained multiple gunshot wounds to his body and the motive for the murder which is under investigation by Wentworth Police is unknown.
