Relatives and friends of Derrick Cort, the motorcyclist who was gunned down in Campbellville last Friday, held an hour-long candle light vigil on Sunday night at the spot where he was killed.
About twenty persons including children lined both sides of First Street, a stone’s throw away from the Campbellville Post Office where Cort’s lifeless body had been lying that night, silently expressing their hurt as gospel and reggae music filled the night air.
During the vigil, a relative held up a placard which read “Justice needed for Derrick Cort” while two more with a similar message were stuck in the grass. About ten candles covered with plastic cups were placed directly on the spot where Cort’s body fell and a donkey cart with a music box stood nearby. The group left the area around 9:30 pm.
Three days have passed since the incident and police are yet to arrest any of the gunmen.
Reports indicate that shortly after 10 pm on Thursday, the 29-year-old North Sophia resident who was heading east along First Street stopped his bike near the Campbellville Post Office. He got off and was arguing with several persons unknown a few metres away. It was during this that he was shot twice in the back and he died almost instantly.
A resident had told this newspaper that he had retired to bed just before 10 o’clock and about 15 minutes later he heard an explosive sound followed by a scream.
The man said that seconds after this, two more shots rang out and on checking he noticed two men speeding up the road, heading east. According to reports several cars sped by the area minutes after and in the glow of their head lights he realized that someone was lying at the side of the road. No vehicles stopped to check on the person, he had said.
Residents placed repeated calls to several police stations and the police hotline number 911 but the numbers rang out. Eventually contact was made with the police and a mobile patrol was deployed to the area.
It arrived close to 30 minutes after the shooting had occurred. After conducting investigations for more than an hour, the body which was found face down, and the motorcycle were removed from the scene.
His relatives continue to dismiss rumours that the father of two was involved in “any kind of dirty business” and they remain clueless as to what might have caused such a brutal ending to his life.
