Boy fighting for survival after hit by stray bullet

An 11-year old boy from St Helena Bay on the West Coast is fighting for his life after protests about land escalated last Friday.

Leo Williams, the victim, was allegedly fired at by a police officer which hit the boy in the head.

This incident resulted into war between residents and the police, which only ended on Monday.

Independent Police Investigative Directorate is investigating the incident.

Residents of Laingville had been protesting that day about municipal hosting and land allocations.

Thyrone Williams, a Laingville Community leader:

“Between 8pm and 8:30pm, four police officers came past the sports field and apparently changed direction and shot at the house where the boy was. One of the bullets hit his head”

The boy is currently in a critical situation at the Red Cross Children’s Hospital in Cape Town with the bullet still lodged in his head.

Doctors warn that removing it may cost his life.

Laingville residents seemed satisfied after the mayor took their concerns to heart on Saturday but then violence in and around the small town escalated and came to a head-on Monday afternoon.

There is a war going on in St. Helena Bay.

The stand-off between residents of Laingville and the police has progressed to more than 10 kilometres outside the town.

Both entrances are blocked by retailing residents and public order policing from all over the West Coast.

Protests about the removal of illegal structures in the Saldanha Bay area have been frequent in the past weeks.

A peace agreement was finally reached between police and residents by Monday evening.