Two people who may have been attacked by the ‘night crawler’ suspected of killing homeless people in the Muckleneuk area of Tshwane, have told police their attacker was wearing a balaclava and attacked them during the evening while they were sleeping.

A high-level task team has been established to investigate the spate of murders of homeless people in the area after a fifth body was discovered.

Gauteng police spokesperson Brigadier Mathapelo Peters confirmed to News24 on Wednesday evening that the specialist team has been able to establish that two homeless men recently survived similar attacks in the area. The two men had not previously approached police about the attacks until now.

The men reported that their attacker was wearing a balaclava and attacked them during the evening while they were sleeping and that they were only attacked by one man. 

While police have labelled the spate of murders as the work of a serial killer, they have called the suspect the nocturnal prowler. 

READ: Homeless Killings: Task team hits the ground running in search for ‘nocturnal prowler’

Earlier on Wednesday, News24 spoke to one of the homeless men who resides in Magnolia park in Muckleneuk, Pretoria. He believes he may have been the first victim of the ‘night crawler’, after he was attacked in May.

The man, who declined to reveal his identity, believes he may have been one of the first victims, after waking up in the early hours of the morning in May, to a man violently stabbing him.

The man recounted his ordeal, saying the attack happened around 03:00, and that his attacker was wearing a black jacket with a hoodie, wielding a large knife.

“I was the first to be stabbed,” he claimed.

“I was sleeping, he was silent and just started stabbing me, he didn’t say anything.”

The man then managed to jump up and ran into the street screaming, his attacker then ran away.

“He was running like a ghost,” he explained, with the man being fast, and silent as he ran away.

The man doesn’t remember how he got to a nearby hospital, but said he was treated for several stab wounds on his left arm, stomach and knee in Steve Biko Academic Hospital in Tshwane. 

When asked if he opened a case with the police, the man said he didn’t approach police because he thought it would be futile as he didn’t know his attacker.  

He added that there was another man who was attacked in the area after him, who also managed to survive. 

I don’t sleep alone anymore

The man, who works as a recycler now, says he is terrified of sleeping alone and that other homeless people have now opted to either leave the Muckleneuk area at night, or sleep in groups.

“[There are] very few people sleeping here, the ones that are staying are [sleeping] in a group now,” he told News24.

“Even me, now I don’t sleep alone.”         

           The wound on the knee of the man who claims he was stabbed several times in                                                                                 Magnolia Park. (Alex Mitchley)

Another homeless man who sleeps in Magnolia Park said that if he isn’t given help, he might be the next to die.

The man, who also did not want to be named, could not understand why they were being targeted, as they did not have money or any valuable belongings.

He questioned whether the killer was a “sangoma” or “mentally disturbed”.

READ MORE: Police discover bodies of two men in Magnolia Park

He also said that homeless people have now opted to sleep in groups.

“We are sleeping in groups… but when someone is approaching a lot of people no one will rise because they will be afraid for their life.

“No one will raise his head, no one can try to do something, because it’s night and we don’t have anything.”

“So even if someone is crying there, I cannot run and say I want to help, how can [I].”

We are all scared

Several other homeless men and people who work in the Muckleneuk area have said they are terrified that they may be next and that they have no means to defend themselves.

One street vendor said everyone in the area is scared, because they don’t know who or why people are being targeted and killed.

He said that a part of Magnolia Park was home to dozens of people, but since the murders started, most people have left the area in the evenings, finding other parks to sleep in.

The manager of Huckleberrys, Chris Letswalo said that since the news broke, the restaurant has also suffered with patrons opting to stay away.

They have also had a massive decline in people making bookings for functions at the restaurant in Magnolia Park.

Letswalo added that he has been with the restaurant for eight years and has never heard of a single murder in the area, until now.

Fifth body found

On Wednesday morning, police confirmed that a fifth body had been discovered at a bus stop near the Unisa main campus in Muckleneuk.

READ MORE: Homeless killings – Fifth body found in Tshwane, police task team deployed

The first body was found almost three weeks ago in a veld near the Mears Park train station. Two more bodies were found in Magnolia Park on June 8 and 9. The fourth body was on a pavement on the corner of Justice Mohammed and Troye streets on Tuesday.

All five victims were found in different parts of Muckleneuk. Police have also confirmed that the five were homeless middle-aged males. They were all killed at night.

News24 also understands that all victims were either stabbed, suffered blunt force trauma from a heavy object or injuries inflicted in both manners. However, post-mortems conducted by the task team will conclusively identify the cause of death in each case.

               The tree where the man was sleeping under in Magnolia Park when he was allegedly attacked and stabbed several times.                                                                                                           (Alex Mitchley)