• Eleven people were shot dead in Khayelitsha, Langa and Gugulethu over the weekend, while two other victims were injured in Gugulethu.
• Western Cape police have increased deployments in affected communities and other hotspots, but no arrests have yet been made for the killings.
Eleven people were gunned down in a bloody weekend across three Cape Town communities.
The killings have forced Western Cape police to send more officers into affected areas and other crime hotspots.
The shootings happened in Khayelitsha, Langa and Gugulethu between Saturday night and early Sunday morning.
Police have not yet established whether the attacks are connected.
No arrests have been made.
Detectives from the Provincial Serious Violent Crimes Unit are now investigating the killings.
The bloodshed started late on Saturday night.
At about 10.50pm, three men were shot and killed in TR Section in Lingelethu West, Khayelitsha.
The victims were aged 25, 31 and 35.
Around the same time, another deadly shooting was unfolding in Langa.
Police said four men and a woman were shot dead in Winnie Mandela Street in Phase 3, KwaLanga, at about 10.45pm.
That brought the number of people killed in the two Saturday night attacks to eight.
Hours later, another three people were killed.
Police said two men and a woman were shot dead in the Barcelona informal settlement in Gugulethu at about 4.10am on Sunday.
Two other people were injured during the shooting.
The three attacks left 11 people dead in the space of several hours.
Western Cape police spokesperson Brigadier Novela Potelwa said detectives are investigating what led to the shootings.
“The motive for the shooting incidents is the subject of the police investigations that are currently underway,” Potelwa said.
Police have now increased their presence in the affected communities.
“Western Cape police have reinforced deployments in the affected areas as well as other potential hotspots,” Potelwa said.
Western Cape Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Sizakhele Dyantyi is also expected to visit the communities where the shootings happened.
He will oversee police deployments as officers try to prevent further violence.
Police have not announced any arrests linked to the three shootings.
They are now appealing to residents who may know anything about the attacks to come forward.
Even small pieces of information could help detectives identify those responsible for the killings.
Anyone with information can contact Crime Stop on 08600 10111.
Information can also be provided anonymously through the MySAPS mobile application.
Police said all information received will be treated confidentially.
For residents of Khayelitsha, Langa and Gugulethu, the weekend has brought another wave of deadly gun violence to their communities.
Detectives must now establish why the 11 people were killed, whether any of the attacks are connected and who pulled the triggers.
For now, families are mourning while police put more officers on the streets and hunt for those responsible.
Pictured above: Police handcuffs.
Image source: File.
