"I thought I would die and my children would grow up without a father."
These were the words of one of the survivors of the five friends who were robbed of their phones by two armed thugs.
The traumatised friends who are aged 32 and 37, asked not to be named as they fear the thugs might target them.
On Saturday, 16 December, the five friends were enjoying their drinks in Palm Ridge Extension 3, Ekurhuleni when one of the thugs opened fire while approaching them from the gate.
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Two of the survivors of the attack told Daily Sun that they were afraid they would die.
The deceased from Limpopo can't be named at this stage because his family has not been traced yet.
A survivor (37) said the two thugs targeted him because of his muscular body, and they pointed a gun to his head. He said they thought he might attack them.
"They demanded our phones and wallets, but our friend hid his phone. They took our phones," he said.
He said the suspects said they would search them because they only handed them four phones, instead of five. They threatened that if they found someone hiding a phone, they would shoot him dead.
"They began searching us, and they found the phone our friend had hidden and without hesitating one of the thugs shot our friend at close range," he said.
He said the thug was merciless.
"They kept on asking me questions and moving us around while we were on the floor. One of the thugs was asking his friend where he should start shooting us.
"They called me 'fatty' and kept pointing a gun at me. I was worried my two kids, a nine-month-old son and my daughter (12) would never see their father alive again," he said.
Another survivor (32) said they were traumatised after they saw their friend being killed in front of them.
He said while the robbery was happening, a phone belonging to one of the thugs rang and he answered.
"He answered the phone and told the person on the other line that he was still at work. This shows these people were on the mission to rob people," he said.
He said they were taken from outside and locked inside the house.
"We thought they had left, suddenly they came and one of them peeped through a burglar door and told us they killed our friend because he was stubborn. These thugs are heartless especially the tall one who shot our friend," he said.
Gauteng police spokeswoman Colonel Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi confirmed the incident.
"Five friends were reportedly having drinks at the house when they were attacked by two unknown men who demanded cellphones. One of the victims allegedly refused to hand over his phone and he was shot, and killed.
"The other four friends surrendered their cellphones," said Nevhuhulwi.
