Pietermaritzburg - A Grey's Hospital nursing sister died after being shot in the head at her Grange home on Tuesday.
Paramedics tried in vain to save 48-year-old Ntokozo Xulu’s life.
A source said Xulu was sitting in her lounge and had been talking to someone before the shots were fired.
A relative who was in the house said he heard two shots fired.
Neighbours said a man was seen “casually” leaving the home before getting into a black Polo and driving off. The vehicle did not have number plates.
Xulu had been a sister at Grey’s since October 1, 1995 and her nursing manager, Tracy “K.T.” Mckenzie, said she was a passionate, professional nurse and generally a “sweet soul”.
“She loved her job. She attended numerous courses over the years before ultimately qualifying as a professional nurse in 2003,” said Mckenzie.
“After further training she went on to specialise in paediatric nursing and was currently based at the hospital’s paediatric ward as a qualified paediatric nurse,” she said.
A spirited person who “loved everybody”, Xulu referred to and treated her young patients as her own children, said Mckenzie, adding that all her friends and colleagues at Grey’s were still trying to wrap their heads around the whole incident.
“It’s a shock. Everyone is shocked. It was totally unexpected.
“She was what we call a bedside nurse so she worked mostly night shifts. We were expecting to see her again tonight,” said Mckenzie.
Xulu was a divorced mother of two children. When The Witness tried to speak to Xulu’s family, her distraught brother declined to comment.
Police spokesperson Mthokozisi Ngobese said the police were investigating a case of murder and no arrests had been made yet.
