Louis van Schoor has died. The 72-year-old had been hospitalised due to an infection in his leg.
The BBC has reported that his daughter informed them he died on Thursday afternoon “due to complications from sepsis” in the same East London hospital where many of his victims were treated.
In 2021, Van Schoor had both his legs partially amputated following circulatory issues.
Van Schoor’s death occurred less than a week after a BBC documentary investigation into his past, which revealed horrific new details about a series of killings he committed in the late 1980s in East London while working as a private security guard.
Between 1986 and 1989, he shot and killed at least 39 people. All of his victims were black, with the youngest being just 12-years old. The mass killer, who told the BBC that he “hunted” black people, said that the police encouraged him.
In 1991, Van Schoor was arrested and later convicted on seven charges of murder, but he was released on parole after serving just 12 years in jail. At least 32 of his killings are still classified as “justifiable homicides” by the police.
During his lifetime, Van Schoor claimed that all his victims were criminals caught “red-handed”. He relied on apartheid-era laws that allowed the use of lethal force against intruders to maintain his innocence.
The BBC’s report raised serious questions about his so-called “justifiable” shootings and included extensive interviews with Van Schoor, in which he described his activities as “exciting” and akin to “hunting”.
He also made several allegations about police involvement in his activities. The BBC also reviewed long-forgotten archival documents, including witness statements from multiple survivors of Van Schoor's shootings, who gave graphic accounts of him gunning them down after they had surrendered.
Marlene Mvumbi, whose brother Edward was killed by Van Schoor in 1986, was shocked to hear of his sudden death. She told the BBC, “He got off easy! I hope they still re-open these cases. The families deserve justice. We got nothing and the pain is still the same.”
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