PICTURE PERFECT: Aliya Tee, who died in her own home in a suspected gang-related shooting. Picture: Supplied
Father fighting for his life in hospital after trying to ward off killers of Strelitzia pupil
A PROMISING young schoolgirl, murdered in cold blood in her home, is the latest victim in suspected witness killings linked to ongoing gang violence in Port Elizabeth’s troubled northern areas.
Twelve-year-old Aliya “Angel” Tee, a star Grade 7 pupil and prefect at Strelitzia Primary School, was killed late on Tuesday night in yet another brutal gang-related crime which has rocked and angered the community.
Her father, Edmund, 43, who desperately tried to fend off the attackers, is fighting for his life in Livingstone Hospital after being shot.
Four gunmen posing as police officials forced open the back door of the Barberry Street house in Bethelsdorp, which is directly across the road from where notorious gangster Donovan “Staal” Berry, 47, was gunned down on the pavement last month.
Berry was shot 31 times in the face and upper body just after 9am on May 3.
Aliya’s family were asleep and were woken by a loud bang.
Several residents in the street said Aliya’s mother had witnessed Berry’s murder.
It is unclear whether the killers intentionally shot Aliya or if she was hit as the gunmen aimed at her fleeing mother.
Yesterday afternoon, hundreds of outraged parents and schoolchildren took to the street in protest against Aliya’s murder.
The school closed early as a result of the shooting.
Her mother, who has not been named because she fears for her life, managed to escape the attack uninjured.
Other traumatised residents and family members were also too afraid to talk for fear of retaliation by the gangsters.
Police said the gunmen had knocked on the front door of the house shortly after 11pm, claiming to be police and demanding that the family open up.
“He [Edmund] refused to open the door, so the shooters walked to the back entrance and forced the back door open,” one official said.
“Several shots were fired inside the house while he [Edmund] tried to attack them.”
A relative, who did not want to be named, said: “He [Edmund] tried to fight them off, which is when he got shot.
“They continued shooting at her [the mother] and Angel while running to the front door of the house.
“Angel died in the bathroom,” the woman said. “We were told they [the killers] were in and out of the house very quickly and it was just chaos.
“They came in the back door and went out the front door and were just shooting the whole time.”
A bullet hole was visible in the front door of the house.
Police sources said Aliya appeared to have been shot in the face by mistake as the gunmen aimed for her mother.
Police spokesman Colonel Priscilla Naidu said: “The police condemn this attack and the senseless killing of an innocent child in the strongest terms.
“All means possible will be used to bring the culprits to book.”
Naidu said the case had been handed over to the gang unit for investigation. Worried family members waited anxiously yesterday at Livingstone Hospital, where Edmund – who was shot in the arm, neck and hip – remains in a critical condition.
Aliya’s uncle, Gary Geduld, spoke outside the hospital. “She [Aliya’s mother] is in severe shock and received treatment at hospital, but we are going to take her to another [private] doctor as well,” Geduld said.
“The details [of the attack] are unclear at this stage and we don’t actually know what happened.
“All we know is what the police have told us and we are trying to get the facts as well.”
By midday, about 300 pupils from Strelitzia Primary – which is only 200m from the house in Barberry Street – and their parents marched in protest against the senseless killing.
The group stopped outside Aliya’s house, where they held a brief prayer meeting before continuing.
Waving placards as they marched, the parents and children chanted, “Enough is enough,” and “No more violence.”
Community activist and former gangster Justin Oliphant joined the march, calling for unity.
“The community is beyond fed up with this,” he said over a loud-hailer.
“Everyone has had enough and it is time for everyone to stand up and stand together.”
Strelitzia Primary deputy principal Bennet Draai said Aliya had been one of their top-performing pupils and a prefect. “We are all so shocked by this,” he said. “I arrived at school this morning and was told of the incident.
“All the teachers and her classmates are in shock. We ended school early because of this and had to cancel the exam that was scheduled to be written.”
Draai described Aliya as a well-liked, quiet girl.
“She was a star and will be sorely missed by all at the school.
“Aliya had been here from Grade R and had gone through all the teachers’ hands at the school,” he said.
Draai confirmed that Aliya had been at school when Berry died in a hail of bullets and could not have witnessed his murder in the street.
Weeks after Berry’s killing, police arrested the alleged triggerman in the murder, Elgeswhin Goliath, 27.
Goliath appeared in the Port Elizabeth Magistrate’s Court last month and remains in custody pending his next court appearance on July 14.
Berry had been arrested several times over the past few years.
According to police, he was instrumental in ordering hits on rival gangsters.
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