The Ladysmith massacre was a mass shooting that occurred in the

Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal Ladysmith is a city in the Uthukela District of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It lies north-west of Durban and south-east of Johannesburg. Important industries in the area include food processing, textiles, and tyre production. Ladysmith is the ...

area on 20 January 1992, in South Africa, perpetrated by Carel Johannes Delport. Most of Delport's victims were black, and in the aftermath racial tensions in the area increased. Delport was subsequently arrested and sentenced to 39 years in prison.

Shooting

The shooting began at the farm in Allerkraal after Delport had an argument with his father about the sale of three calves, and when his father showed him the money he had just received, commenting that he would give it to his stepmother, Delport armed himself with a

.357 Magnum The .357 Smith & Wesson Magnum, .357 S&W Magnum, .357 Magnum, or 9×33mmR as it is known in unofficial metric designation, is a smokeless powder cartridge with a bullet diameter. It was created by Elmer Keith, Phillip B. Sharpe, and Douglas B. ...

revolver.Slagter Delport skuldig bevind aan massa-moord Die meeste slagoffers het dodelik akkurate hartskote gehad
, ''

Beeld ''Beeld'' (freely translated as ''Picture'' or ''Image'') is an Afrikaans-language daily newspaper that was launched on 16 September 1974. ''Beeld'' is distributed in four provinces of South Africa: Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and North West, pr ...

'' (22 October 1992) Delport killed his father with a shot to the chest on the

veranda A veranda or verandah is a roofed, open-air gallery or porch, attached to the outside of a building. A veranda is often partly enclosed by a railing and frequently extends across the front and sides of the structure. Although the form ''veran ...

, then attempted to help him but he was already dead.Kallie moes sy kos op vuur buite huis kook
, ''

'' (25 January 1992) Delport next shot the farm's housemaid, Makhozana Alzina Ntombela, in the kitchen and set fire to the mattress in his room and his car, which eventually caused the house to burn down. Outside, about 750 metres from the farm, Delport killed Msamaniso Mdladla and Petros Ndlala, the two black men who had come to buy the calves, and then drove to his stepmother's home in Ladysmith to set her car on fire, but when he failed to find it, he began shooting randomly at people in the street with a

Ruger Mini-14 The Mini-14 is a lightweight semi-automatic rifle manufactured by Sturm, Ruger & Co. Introduced in 1973, it is based on the M14 rifle and is essentially a scaled-down version chambered in 5.56×45mm NATO. It is made in a number of variants, inc ...

. Delport continued shooting at the parking lot of a shopping centre, killing a total of five people, including traffic officer Prithlal Rambally, who was hit three times, and wounding 11 more.'Slagting' hof hoor Kallie was 'emosioneel belaai'
, ''

'' (16 October 1992) When police arrived at the scene he sped away in his truck towards Newcastle and shot at commuters in a bus, wounding six of them. Delport was eventually arrested on a road outside of Ladysmith, after a short chase and a shootout with police, in which two officers were wounded. Besides the rifle, police recovered four 30-round magazines, the

revolver and more than 3,600 rounds of ammunition from Delport's truck.Uur van waansin 9 sterf in koeëlreën, 18 gewond op Ladysmith
, ''

'' (21 January 1992)Ek is jammer, sê Kallie en stort in hof ineen
, ''

'' (October 20, 1992) Most of his victims were killed with shots to the

heart The heart is a muscular organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as carbon dioxide t ...

Victims

Those killed were: *Marthiens Delport, 68, Delport's father *Makhozana Alzina Ntombela, 40, housemaid at the Delport farm *Msamaniso Mdladla, killed at the farm *Petros Ndlala, killed at the farm *Melusi Obed Zwane *Mohamed Faruk Laka *Enock Lucky Nyatahi *Patrick Mbongeni Gumede *Prithlal Rambally, 28, traffic officer

Perpetrator

Carel Johannes Delport was born in 1956 and known by his nickname, "Kallie", and as a child suffered from

meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, headache, and neck stiffness. Other symptoms include confusion or ...

. Delport was declared unfit for military service for unknown reasons, and instead worked on the farm of his father, Marthiens Delport, earning 300 South African Rand a month. The farm was located in Allerkraal, a place outside of the city of Ladysmith. Delport reportedly had a history of

mental illness A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...

and was twice charged with and acquitted of

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th cen ...

after shooting two cattle thieves. His family had repeatedly asked his father to not allow him to own any

firearms A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes c ...

, but he declined their requests. Delport had 13 licensed firearms at the time of the shooting and was frequently asked by locals to participate in wildlife

culling In biology, culling is the process of segregating organisms from a group according to desired or undesired characteristics. In animal breeding, it is the process of removing or segregating animals from a breeding stock based on a specific tr ...

, because he was considered one of the best marksmen in the area. According to an examination conducted after the shooting, Delport had an IQ of 78 and was suffering from

borderline personality disorder Borderline personality disorder (BPD), also known as emotionally unstable personality disorder (EUPD), is a personality disorder characterized by a long-term pattern of unstable interpersonal relationships, distorted sense of self, and strong ...

Family

Delport had his father Marthiens, a brother named Willem, and a stepmother Eleonora. Delport had called his father a "hard and ruthless man" and accused of "casting him from his rightful place" when Marthiens had adopted a black boy two months prior to the shooting. Marthiens Delport had fathered an illegitimate daughter with a black woman, and once raped a 16-year-old relative, who afterwards unsuccessfully tried to commit

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

. Delport also had constant disputes with his stepmother, who struggled to tolerate his presence on the farm and wanted him to leave. According to Delport, his father often said that he was stupid and belonged in a mental institution, and was also not allowed to eat together with his father and stepmother at the table, instead had to have his meals outside the house.

Aftermath

Most of Delport's victims were black, causing racial tensions to be increased in the area, and during his trial a crowd gathered outside the court and threatened to

lynch Lynch may refer to: Places Australia * Lynch Island, South Orkney Islands, Antarctica * Lynch Point, Marie Byrd Land, Antarctica * Lynch's Crater, Queensland, Australia England * River Lynch, Hertfordshire * The Lynch, an island in the River ...

him. On 4 March, the trial was postponed to 18 March for a two-week-long psychiatric examination of the gunman. Dr. Anthony Dunn, chief psychiatrist at the Midlands Hospital, argued that Delport was not mentally ill during the shooting, but due to his low IQ, his inability to cope with stress, and his hatred against his father he was of partially unsound mind and lost all self-control. Prosecution accepted his mental incapacity, low intelligence and emotional imbalance to be mitigating factors and refrained from demanding capital punishment, instead asking for a long-term prison sentence during which Delport should receive psychological help. Delport pleaded not guilty, claiming that he was of unsound mind during the shooting and fired at black shapes that were attacking him. On 21 October, he was found guilty after changing his plea, and on 29 October he was sentenced to a total of 39 years in prison, among them 22 years for nine counts of murder, and 12 years for 21 counts of attempted murder. The sentences run concurrently, meaning that he will be released after 22 years. Delport was also declared unfit to ever be able to obtain a firearms license.Die Slagter van Ladysmith moet 22 jaar sit Sy lae IK, pa se provokasie en gedeeltelike ontoerekeningsvatbaarheid was versagtend
, ''

'' (29 October 1992)

Shooting

Victims

Perpetrator

Family

Aftermath

See also

References

Further reading