Boy, 16, shot in Helenvale

[caption id="attachment_39879" align="alignright" width="405"] STRUCK DOWN: A bullet hole in a boom box is a reminder of the way Raltino van Sensi, 16, of Helenvale was killed on Friday. His friend, with a photograph of the slain teenager, sits near the spot where he was shot. Picture: JUDY DE VEGA[/caption]

A CASE of mistaken identity led to the death of a Helenvale teenager, when he became the latest victim of gang violence in Port Elizabeth's northern areas on Friday night.

Raltino van Sensi, 16, was shot dead shortly after 7pm in his next door neighbour's yard, in Chamois Street, where he was spending a quiet evening with friends.

One of the teen's friends, who wished to remain anonymous for his own safety, spoke quietly with tears in his eyes as he recalled the night's events.

"Three of us were sitting in the backyard, smoking our hookah pipe and talking. Raltino said he was going to get his boom box from his house next door so we could listen to some music, and a few minutes later we heard a lot of shots at the front of the house.

"We came running out just in time to see two guys running away, and Raltino was lying there, still trying to move. We called everyone, but it was too late." - Riaan Marais