A shooting near a post office, one at a bus stop and another near a laundry shop.
Bellville Police Station is experiencing a surge in crime this August, with police asking the public to report all crimes and stay alert at all times.
In the latest gun-related incident, which happened on Women’s Day, a man walked out of a laundry shop near a petrol station in Voortrekker Road when he was shot at by three men. The man was rushed to Tygerberg Hospital. The suspects are still at large.
Police have since said the motive for the attack has yet to be established. The man was allegedly off-duty and was employed by an important taxi unit.
Another incident two days prior saw a bus driver shot in the leg while in the bus near the Shell garage in Voortrekker Road. He was robbed of R150 000 by an unknown man.
“A victim was rushed to hospital,” Capt Aubrey Morwenyane, a spokesperson for the Bellville Police Station, says.
“A case of attempted murder is being investigated.”
On the same day five male suspects entered the Usave near South Street in Bellville CBD. One plucked out a gun and showed it to an employee, instructing her to show him where the safe is.
A total of R75 000 was robbed.
Earlier the month three men were arguing in the Rhos Street parking area opposite the Post Office. One person was shot while trying to run away.
Morwenyane calls on anyone with information to call the Bellville Police Station on 021 718 3000.
Fake it until you make it
In an unrelated incident, an employee working for the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) in Bellville, Phelisa Lande (45) appeared in court last Wednesday for allegedly supplying a fake matric certificate.
“This comes after she was arrested on Monday 8 August by the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Investigation team in Bellville for falsifying her qualifications,” the Hawks’ spokesperson Zinzi Hani says.
The woman applied for a job as security official when it was advertised in October 2021. Having a matric qualification was one of the requirements.
“Noticing the suspicious certificate, the Hawks’ vetted the qualifications with the Dept of Education,” Hani says. “Further investigation revealed that the accused submitted the same qualification on her previous employment where she was employed as a security officer.”
The case has been remanded to 6 September.
Crime in Bellville
Despite the incidents reported this month, the latest crime statistics paint a relatively mild picture of crime in Bellville.
The statistics, released in June, compare crimes committed in January to March 2021 with those in 2022. Bellville wasn’t listed as one of the top 30 stations in multiple categories but took joint second place for bank robberies for and incident that happened at a bank in Voortrekker Road earlier this year. During that time a spate of bank robberies took place across the metropole and the Hawks have arrested at least one man in connection with the incidents.
Other station-specific statistics show murders decreasing with 77% (from nine to two), while total contact crime (crimes against the person) increased by 5,1.% (237 to 249). Aggrevated robberies were down with 66,7% (three to one), as well as property related crimes (24,2%, from 438 to 332) and other serious crimes (5,8%, from 1 218 to 1 147).
