By Buziwe Nocuze
- Two people were shot dead and three wounded in a tuck shop in Beacon Valley around 12:30, with more shootings quickly following.
- Police say the shootings are gang-related. No arrests have been made, and the hunt for the suspects is ongoing.
Police, Metro Tactical Units and traffic officers were rushed to Mitchell’s Plain on Wednesday after a deadly shooting spree across the area.
Five people were killed and seven others injured in five separate shootings in Beacon Valley, Tafelsig and Town Centre. All are believed to be linked to gang wars.
The first attack happened just after midday at a tuck shop in Beacon Valley, where two people were shot dead and three others were wounded.
Moments later, gunmen opened fire at a second tuck shop nearby. One person was killed and three more wounded.
In a third shooting in the same area, another person was shot and injured.
Later that day, two more people were gunned down in separate attacks in Tafelsig and Town Centre.
A woman who was at the Town Centre said: “I heard gunshots and people started running. I ran too. Later, I heard there were more shootings in other places.”
She said the shootings seem to be part of a gang war. “They’re killing each other in front of people who have nothing to do with their fights.”
Ian Cameron, National Assembly Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police said the shootings show that the police are failing. He said gang violence in the Western Cape is not random but “organised, ongoing, and should be preventable”.
Cameron said the South African Police Service has no clear plan or leadership to deal with gangs and that “Crime Intelligence is broken”.
He said a full Commission of Inquiry is needed to “expose the failures and fix the mess” within SAPS leadership in the province. He warned that “until SAPS leadership is held accountable.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Novela Potelwa confirmed a manhunt is underway. Anti-Gang Unit detectives have opened murder and attempted murder cases.
“Multidisciplinary deployments have been increased to prevent more shootings,” she said. “No one has been arrested yet.”
Pictured above: Metro police and LEAP officers on patrol in Cape Town
Image source: City of Cape Town
