"It will spook me for a long time," were the words of a Durban prosecutor who watched a friend die while paramedics were frantically trying to save his life.
The bar patron, who asked not to be named, was at Merseyside Pub and Tavern in Umbilo on Wednesday night to draw money when five people were gunned downed after a pub brawl turned ugly.
A few minutes earlier he waved at one of the victims who was sitting at a slot machine as he came in. As he was drawing money, he heard shots and ducked for cover behind the bar.
When the shooting stopped, three men lay dying and two others were seriously wounded.
"I crawled around the pub and saw people lying down. It was scary. The shock only hit me this morning (Friday)," he said.
At the time two of the victims, Rory Menzies and Shawn Strydom, were still conscious.
"Rory said, 'I'm going to die, I can't breathe, I'm going to die'. Nick (Jansen van Rensburg) didn't say anything and Shawn was moaning 'Sore, sore'," the witness said.
He said the paramedics battled to try to save their lives.
According to the man, the shooting looked random as the victims lay several metres from each other.
"Anyone could have been shot," he said.
The other two victims, Shawn, 57, and his son Bruce, 28, Edwards, were taken to McCords Hospital, but later transferred to King Edward Hospital.
Police spokesperson Inspector Michael Read said both men were in a stable condition.
This weekend at the Queensmead Mall in Umbilo, the only reminder of the tragedy was a sign on the door of the tavern that reads, "Closed until Monday".
There is no police tape or flowers - only shoppers going about their business.
Police claim the horror events started with innocent banter about penis size and culminated in a shooting that claimed the lives of Strydom, 33, Van Rensburg, 57, and Menzies, 40.
On Friday the five men, including two police inspector brothers, accused of their murder and the attempted murder of two other men, were released on bail.
At least one of the weapons allegedly used in the attack was a police service pistol.
The accused were sneaked out of the Durban magistrate's court building through a back tunnel to avoid being photographed.
Their family members hurled abuse at the media and threatened photographers, one of whom was almost hit by car whisking an accused away.
What transpired on that fateful night, the lawyers for the accused claim, will be revealed on closed circuit camera footage taken at the scene.
At the centre of the drama is Nithanandan Ganess, 37, a marine engineer at Transnet.
According to his lawyer, Asif Latib, the trouble started when Ganess "was picked on by a big white male" in the men's room at the pub.
In a statement read to the court, Ganess, a married father of three children, said he was racially abused and attacked because of his skin colour.
He said he was a non-violent person, but admitted he had a previous conviction of assault for which he paid a fine.
Ganess, Julian Naidoo, 31, Inspector Samuel Steven, 39, Inspector Leon Steven, 33, and Naeem Sadick, 22, were charged with three counts of murder and two of attempted murder.
Latib claimed that after the initial incident a group of white men went to the friends' table and called them "c****** and curry munchers" and asked what they were doing at the pub.
The fight was then taken outside where there were "small fisticuffs".
Latib alleged that Leon Steven was dragged back into the pub and his brother came to his rescue.
Professionals
Latib said his clients, Naidoo, a shipping operations supervisor, and Ganess, were very distraught about what had happened.
"Both men are professionals. They have been friends with the other men for some time, but have not seen each other socially for a while. It was supposed to be an evening of re-acquainting and bonding but went horribly wrong," he said.
The accused men and their families did not want to comment "at this stage", Latib said.
The five men were arrested early on Thursday morning. Samuel and Leon Steven were released on R5 000 bail, while Ganess, Naidoo and Sadick, were released on R3 000 bail each. The five men will appear again on November 13.