An 18-year-old white man appeared in court on Thursday in connection with an alleged shooting spree that left four black people dead and raised racial tensions.
Johan Nel appeared in the Swartruggens Magistrates Court in the largely rural North-West Province. His case was postponed to Jan. 24 for further investigation. He was not asked to enter a plea.
Nel is accused of entering the Skieklik informal settlement on Monday and shooting dead three people, including a three-month-old baby and a 10-year-old boy. A fourth victim died in the hospital. Nine people were wounded.
Police have cautioned against attributing the incident to racism, fearing violence after angry residents barricaded the entrance to the settlement on Wednesday.
But many see the incident as another racial attack in a country still grappling with its apartheid past.
"Tell us why this young boy decided to kill only black people," the Congress of South African Trade Unions demanded in a statement.
A small group of protesters gathered outside the court on Thursday chanting slogans such as "kill that dog" and "let him hang," the South African Press Association reported.
"The most horrific thing that has happened is that [while] we are fighting racism throughout, white residents ... white South Africans, didn't even come here to show their solidarity," ANC member of Parliament and Swartruggens resident Patrick Chauke told the South African Press Association.
Dramatic details have emerged in the past few days of how Nel, wearing camouflage gear and carrying a rifle, allegedly began firing on a group of children as he took a path through the settlement.
Baby Keditlotse died while wrapped on her mother's back. Her mother, Annah, is in the hospital fighting for her life.
Witnesses told local media that the silent shooter paused only to reload before eventually stopping and disappearing in the chaos.
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