Elsies River, Bishop Lavis and most parts of the Cape Flats are bleeding as gang violence continues unabated.
Five people were shot in Elsies River on Tuesday. A woman was shot and killed on the corner of Epping Avenue and Norwood Road, when the occupants of two cars were allegedly shooting at each other.
Dead on scene
According to police spokesperson Constable Ndakhe Gwala, the victim was declared dead on the scene, and the suspects are yet to be arrested. “Elsies River police registered a case of murder following a shooting incident that occurred at the corner of Epping Avenue and Norwood Road on Tuesday, 5 May, at about 13:45.
According to reports, two motor vehicles were chasing each other, and a 39-year-old woman was caught in the crossfire. She sustained two gunshot wounds to her chest, and she was declared dead on the scene by medical personnel. The suspects fled in a blue Polo GTI and a red Polo GTI,” says Gwala.
Four more people were shot and injured in Elsies River.
On Wednesday, an innocent bystander was shot and killed on the corner of Jakkalsvlei and Kiiat Avenue in Bonteheuwel. Two others were wounded.
Local ward councillor, Angus McKenzie, says this senseless act of violence comes in the wake of the warnings that were issued regarding possible retaliation following a killing the previous night.
“That warning has become a heartbreaking reality. Let us be clear, the life lost today was not a gang member, but an innocent individual who did not deserve to become a victim of this ongoing cycle of violence. We are urgently calling for calm, vigilance, and heightened awareness across the community,” says McKenzie.
Caught
“He says suspects in the shooting were swiftly caught after strong, credible information from residents and eyewitnesses was received through his tip-off line.” That information was immediately relayed to our safety and security teams on the ground. Within minutes, they acted. The suspect vehicle was identified, stopped, and searched. A firearm with ammunition was recovered, and multiple suspects matching the provided descriptions were apprehended. All suspects have been arrested.
“We mourn the loss of an innocent life. But in the midst of this pain, the power of community stood firm, because residents chose to speak up, because information was shared and because action was taken. We now have suspects in custody who we believe may be linked to these incidents and we will do everything in our power to ensure they remain behind bars. This is what happens when a community refuses to be silent. Bonteheuwel showed courage,” he said.
Guns and easy access to firearms have been widely flagged as a source of violence on the Flats, and Ian Cameron, Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police, says a parliamentary question of his unearthed several deeply concerning facts about recovered firearms in South Africa. “I asked how many recovered firearms with legible serial numbers were found not to be recorded on the Central Firearms Registry, especially given the number of firearms used by gangs that appear never to have been legally registered. The answer was blunt: records of recovered firearms with legible serial numbers that are not on the Enhanced Firearm Registration System are not available. That is a serious problem.
“If a firearm is recovered with a legible serial number, but police cannot tell parliament whether it appears on the national firearms system, then our tracing and intelligence capability is not where it should be. The police also stated that only six unregistered firearms were recovered in the Western Cape during the reporting period. That figure needs interrogation, particularly in a province where gang violence and firearm-related murders remain a daily reality,” says Cameron.
More concerning, says Cameron, is the police’s answer on tracing. “The police says it has a tracing protocol and uses INTERPOL’s iARMS system to trace firearms internationally. That is positive on paper. But when asked how many firearms had their full chain of custody successfully established, the police answered that no statistics have been gathered to complete a national picture of all traces conducted during investigations. That is the heart of the problem. You cannot claim to be serious about illegal firearms if you cannot measure how many recovered firearms are being traced from manufacturer, to dealer, to lawful owner, to point of loss, theft, diversion or criminal recovery. Firearm tracing is not a paperwork exercise. It is how we identify leakage points, corrupt officials, negligent institutions, trafficking routes, rogue dealers and criminal networks,” says Cameron.
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