Free State farmer appears in court for shooting teen
A 21-year-old farmer appeared before the Viljoenskroon Magistrate’s Court in the Free State on a charge of attempted murder on Monday.
Willem van der Merwe is accused of shooting and injuring a 16-year-old boy after he opened fire at a group of teens on a maize field in Viljoenskroon.
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Police say the teenage boys were apparently attempting to steal mielies when the incident occurred.
Free State police spokesperson Motantsi Makhele says there is a video showing the injured teen placed at the back of the farmer’s bakkie.
The teen is later thrown off the bakkie at a T-junction.
“The victim was hit in the lower part of his stomach and the friends managed to run away.
“The victim was loaded on a bakkie by the perpetrator whereby a video has been taken while he was humiliated. He was off-loaded at a T-junction and a passer-by who found him took him to a hospital.”
The case was postponed to February 24 for a formal bail application.