Man mows down ex-girlfriend

2003-06-10 09:58

Ziegfried Ekron

Cape Town - The obsessive and violent nature of a previous lover could have led to the cold-blooded shooting of a young Athlone woman in a street near her grandmother's home on Monday morning.

Shamima Ismail, 26, was on her way to her new employer when she was murdered, apparently because she ended a relationship with a boyfriend months ago.

Police spokesperson Superintendent Nina Kirsten said bystanders saw how the man grabbed Ismail by the hair near her grandmother's home in Third Avenue, Belgravia, and threw her to the ground.

"He kneeled on her chest, took out a pistol and fired several shots. Police found 10 cartridge-cases on the scene."

Kirsten said the man then jumped into a white Renault - registration number CA 584 548 - and sped off.

Ismail's mother, Felicity April, said on Monday her daughter had done everything possible to avoid her killer. She confirmed that the two had been in a relationship, but said Ismail had called it off after a while because of the man's violent nature.

"Shamima kept it quiet for quite a while, but she told us in tears one day how the man had bound her, put a bag over her head and bundled her into his car's boot. He told her that's what would happen if she ever decided to leave him."

Her daughter obtained an interdict, but he ignored it.

"The relationship ended months ago, but he followed her everywhere. She often used to change jobs because he always arrived at work and threatened her. As it is, she would have started a new job on Tuesday."

April was working in Maitland when her son, Jeremy, 23, went to fetch her following the shooting.

"It was about 10:00. He didn't say anything, but was wiping tears away. We drove off and I asked him why he was driving down Fifth Avenue instead of Third Avenue where she lived, but then I saw my daughter lying in the street. He shot her quite a few times."

April added that the man has also threatened to shoot dead her son. "They argued earlier because my son told him to leave his sister alone. A friend of the man telephoned us earlier to warn us to keep Jeremy at home."

Kirsten said no one had been arrested in connection with the shooting, but that police know who the man is.

- Die Burger