Residents of Kosovo informal settlement in Samora Machel are reeling from gun violence yet again, after three people were gunned down and one wounded in an incident on Saturday 24 January.
One resident, who didn’t wish to be named for fear of reprisal, said the incident occurred after 11:00, adding that residents in the area did not feel safe. “Shooting is becoming the norm in Kosovo,” she declared. “Criminals commit crimes in other areas and run to Kosovo for hiding. I suspect the deceased were part of extortionists that were dictating our communities. Judging based on how they were executed it tells you they were part of an extortion gang.”
The source said residents are too scared to speak to the media for the sake for their own preservation.
“We don’t know whom to trust these days. What concerns me is that the deceased are young people. Young people are being sent to collect money [protection money] from local spaza shops.”
Provincial police spokesperson Col André Traut said Samora Machel officers had registered three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.
He said deployments in the area had been reinforced with increased visibility and patrols to stabilise the community and maintain law and order, and that the police strongly condemned the violence.
Traut said Serious and Violent Crime Unit detectives are investigating a shooting that occurred at approximately 11:55 in Oliver Tambo Drive.
“The victims were seated in a Suzuki Ertiga when approached by unknown suspects who opened fire before fleeing the scene. Three victims, aged 16 to 21, were declared dead at the scene, while a 19-year-old victim was taken to a medical facility,” He said the motive for the attack was still unknown.
