A mother and her son were shot dead outside their home at Madison Court in Scottsdene, Kraaifontein, in the early hours of Thursday, 27 August 2026. Viona Solomons, 43, and her son Juliano Solomons, 20, were found with gunshot wounds to their upper bodies and declared dead on the scene by medical personnel.
Police spokesperson Constable Ndakhe Gwala confirmed that officers responded to the shooting at approximately 05:30. “The 43-year-old woman and her 20-year-old son were found outside lying next to each other with gunshot wounds on their upper bodies,” Gwala said. Two murder cases were registered, and no arrests had been made at the time of reporting.
According to the Cape Argus, police said Viona woke up, noticed her son was not at home, and went outside to look for him. “She told her daughter she was going out to look for him, but shortly after that her daughter heard gunshots,” Gwala was quoted as saying by the Cape Argus. The gunfire erupted moments after she left the house.
A relative, identified only as an aunt, told the Daily Voice that Viona threw herself between the gunman and Juliano in a final attempt to protect him. “She jumped in front of Juliano and when Viona fell, he shot Juliano and that is when Juliano also fell,” the aunt said. This account has not been independently verified by a second source and remains unconfirmed.
Constable Gwala said the motive for the shooting had not yet been determined. “The motive for the shooting is yet to be determined and no arrest has been made at this stage,” he said. The Northern News separately confirmed the same incident, a double killing at Madison Court on 27 August 2026.
Scottsdene and the wider Kraaifontein area have experienced recurring gun violence linked to gang activity, a reality that has placed families like the Solomons at the centre of a community under sustained pressure. Kraaifontein has featured repeatedly in Western Cape crime statistics as one of the areas where murder and attempted murder rates remain stubbornly high. Police confirmation of the Solomons case was verified through the Daily Voice and Cape Argus, both of which quoted SAPS directly; no official SAPS media release was available at the time of publication.
Several unverified claims circulated in the aftermath, including that Juliano had received threats over the past month and was due to apply for his ID on the morning he was killed. These claims, attributed to family members speaking to the Daily Voice, could not be independently confirmed. No link to gang activity or any specific motive has been established by police.
What remains unknown is the identity of the gunman, the motive behind the killing, and whether any suspects have since been identified. Cape Flats journalist Nadia Adams will follow up with SAPS Kraaifontein on Monday, 31 August 2026, for an update on the investigation.