A 14-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl died after they were shot in separate incidents in KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo on Monday.
In the first incident, the 14-year-old boy died after a firearm was discharged accidentally while he and his friend were apparently playing with it.
A bullet hit him and he was declared dead on the scene, IPSS Medical Rescue said.
“Fortunately, the second boy sustained no injuries during this horrific incident,” the paramedics added.
In the second incident, the girl was caught in the crossfire of a shootout between robbers and police at Elim Mall in Limpopo.
Limpopo police spokesperson, Colonel Malesela Ledwaba, said cash-in-transit security guards were attacked by robbers while collecting cash from a shop at the mall.
The robbers opened fire on the guards and they retaliated, Ledwaba said.
The girl was hit and died in hospital.
A 26-year-old man was shot alongside the teen.
The robbers made off with an undisclosed amount of cash and fled the scene in a white Toyota Hilux.
Acting provincial police commissioner, Major General Jan Scheepers, called on members of the public to help police find the robbers.
“When we stick together, nothing can defeat us. It is high time that the criminals realise that they have no room to operate in our society,” Scheepers said.
