The blood just keeps flowing on the Cape Flats after five people were shot in Bonteheuwel last night (Tuesday 14 April), including four minors aged 16, 12, 11 and 10.
The attack, believed to be retaliatory, took place in Amandel Street when two suspects alighted from a car and opened fire on a group of people standing outside a shop. The victims were taken to hospital and treated for different injuries.
Separate
In a separate incident at Citrus Street, a 30-year-old man was shot in the back by a gunman in a moving vehicle. He was also transported to hospital for treatment.
Provincial police spokesperson Brig Novela Potelwa said in a statement the Anti-Gang Unit detectives are investigating the two shootings incidents after five people were shot and wounded in Bonteheuwel on Tuesday evening. “The motive for the shooting incidents is believed to be related to gang violence. No arrests have been effected yet. Investigations continue,” said Potelwa.
Angus McKenzie, local Ward councillor, said earlier this week, a known gangster was shot and killed and he sees last night’s attack as retaliation. “A vehicle which we have a full description of drove through the A-Block of Bonteheuwel and opened fire near a known gangster’s home. But once again, it wasn’t gangsters who paid the price, but innocent children. This is the reality of retaliation shootings, cowardice, recklessness, and evil. Because when bullets fly, they don’t ask questions. They don’t check targets. They destroy lives,” said McKenzie.
McKenzie vowed that, as a community, Bonteheuwel will not rest before the perpetrators are captured. “We will not rest. We will not slow down. We will not allow criminals to believe they control our streets. But we cannot do this alone. If you saw anything, heard anything, or have any information no matter how small message us privately, immediately,” said McKenzie.
Get a grip
Graham Lindhorts, chair of the Bishop Lavis Crime Prevention Forum (BLCPF), said it is high time that the police get a grip on the crime. Bishop Lavis falls under the same policing precinct as Bonteheuwel.
“The BLCPF is deeply concerned that the shootings continue on a daily basis throughout the precinct and the Cape Flats in the midst of the deployment of the army. We repeat our call to the police to get a grip on crime. More boots on the ground without a targeted approach to reduce crime and deal decisively with gangsters will yield the results currently seen on the Cape Flats where gang-related crimes continue and at times increase whilst the army is deployed in our communities,” said Lindhorts.
The South African National Defence Force, in the province to help fight gangsterism was only deployed in Bonteheuwel yesterday (14 April) to assist with the fight against gangsterism.
In the meantime three suspects allegedly involved in a recent shooting of a five-year-old girl in Valhalla Park, appeared in the Bishop Lavis Magistrates’ court.
The girl, Yaseemah Trout, was shot in the head while playing in the street on 9 April. Virgil Michaels, Imeraan Petersen, and Abdulragmaan Hendricks appeared on three counts of attempted murder, which include the shooting and wounding of two other people.
READ ALSO: Deployment of the army welcomed in gang-infected areas
