CAPE TOWN – Western Cape police are investigating three separate shooting incidents in Langa, Gugulethu and Khayelitsha after 11 people were shot and killed overnight.
Khayelitsha: three men dead
According to police, three men aged 25, 31 and 35 were shot dead in the TR Section at Lingelethu West in Khayelitsha at approximately 22:50 on Saturday evening (8 August).
Langa: five killed
In Langa, four men and a woman were shot and killed at Winnie Mandela Street in Phase 3 at approximately 22:45.
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Gugulethu: three dead, two injured
In another incident, two men and a woman were shot dead in the Barcelona informal settlement in Gugulethu at 04:10 on Sunday morning (9 August). Two other victims sustained injuries in the shooting.
Police respond
Western Cape police have reinforced deployments in the affected areas as well as other potential hotspots. The motive for the shootings is the subject of ongoing police investigations.
Lieutenant General Sizakhele Dyantyi, Western Cape Provincial Commissioner, and his management team are visiting the affected communities to strengthen investigations and oversee deployments in the areas.
No arrests have been made yet.
Minister calls for intelligence-driven action
Anroux Marais, Western Cape Minister of Police Oversight and Community Safety, condemned the killings and urged police to use every available investigative resource to track down, arrest and prosecute those responsible.
Marais reiterated her call for police to use intelligence more effectively to prevent violent crime, particularly by disrupting the flow of illegal firearms and ammunition into communities.
“We must be far more effective in using intelligence to identify where illegal firearms and ammunition are coming from, who is supplying them, where these weapons are being stored and who is distributing them into our communities. Once identified, these networks and locations must be systematically targeted and shut down,” said Marais.
“These attacks are not possible without access to firearms and ammunition. I again call on SAPS to use available intelligence, lock down identified areas and remove these weapons from our communities,” Marais continued.
Marais also appealed to residents not to remain silent, saying information provided to law enforcement could prevent the next shooting.
Anyone with information that could help expedite the investigations is urged to contact police on 08600 10111. Information may also be shared anonymously via the MySAPS app or the City of Cape Town Tip-Off Line on 0800 110077.
