Johannesburg - A video of a man brutally assaulting a teenager in a shopping centre parking lot has surfaced on social media.
The man is seen brandishing a firearm and manhandling the young man, who is seen cowering on the ground.
The man proceeds to repeatedly kick the defenceless teenager in the abdomen and then stamps on his chest.
It has since been established that the incident occurred in the town of Groblersdal in Limpopo. The victim is said to be a 16-year-old pupil.
According to his mother, *Sandy, the incident occurred at about 8pm on Wednesday.
The teen and his elder brother accompanied by a group of friends were buying potato chips at a local fast-food restaurant.
It is alleged that the man received his order of chips first and was busy adding salt and condiments to his food when the teen’s brother requested that he please pass the salt.
The man indicated to them that he was still busy and that they should wait. The boys then allegedly tried to use one of the other sauces while he was busy and the man took exception to this.
He allegedly took out his gun and began to assault the elder brother. The teen allegedly tried to intervene and pleaded with the man not to harm his brother.
His intervention only served to worsen the situation as the assailant turned his attention to him and began to assault him, as seen in the viral video.
A case has been opened against the assailant at the Groblersdal police station.
According to Sandy the man was traced using his car registration and he has since been arrested and charged with the pointing of a firearm and assault.
Twitter users have reacted with disgust to the incident, with some calling it a show of racism and white supremacy.
Television and radio personality Lerato Kganyago retweeted the video with a caption that read: “What in the actual f*ck?”
*Sandy is not the mother’s real name. The names have been removed and changed to protect the identity of the teenager.
IOL