The public’s assistance is being sought in identifying a woman suspected of assisting a shooter in Bonteheuwel this morning.A shopkeeper was shot, after which the shooter handed the gun to the woman.

CCTV

The entire attack was captured on the shop’s CCTV cameras in Ironwood Street, Bonteheuwel. In the video, three people can be seen approaching the spaza shop, pretending to order something. When the shopkeeper turns his back, a man wearing a scarf around his face takes out a gun and fires shots. The three assailants calmly walk away, with the shooter passing the gun to the woman, whose face is clearly visible on screen.

This is the third shooting this past week, after 31-year-old Umar died from gunshot wounds on Tuesday. The shootings have alarmed the local community, as it appears extortionists are targeting foreign-owned shops.

Angus McKenzie, local ward councillor, says they were alerted to the attack on Friday. “Within minutes, we assembled a dedicated Metro Police team and immediately began following up on multiple tip-offs received from members of the community regarding the whereabouts of those responsible. Although we were unsuccessful in locating the suspects today, our search is far from over. We will continue to act on every credible piece of information we receive until those responsible are brought to justice,” says McKenzie.

Working together

McKenzie says he wants to sincerely thank the residents of Bonteheuwel for sharing information. “Your willingness to come forward is making a real difference. It is only by working together that we will defeat those who seek to terrorise our community. Based on information received today, our teams conducted operations at several addresses identified as known problem locations. These enforcement actions will continue relentlessly.

“We will keep returning, we will keep investigating, and we will keep applying pressure until this disgraceful campaign of extortion against our local spaza shops comes to an end. To those involved in extortion and intimidation, hear this clearly: Bonteheuwel is not your playground. We will not tolerate criminals preying on hardworking business owners for financial gain. We will pursue every lead, we will continue our operations, and we will not stop until those responsible are arrested and held accountable. The message is simple: Your days of operating without consequence are numbered,” says McKenzie.

McKenzie shared a video of the assailants and asked the public’s help in identifying them.

TygerBurger approached the provincial police for comment, but Constable Ndakhe Gwala said they have no record of the incident.

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