Johannesburg - Gauteng premier David Makhura on Tuesday called for action following the shooting of a Westbury toddler at the weekend.
Makhura paid a surprise visit to the Sophiatown police station where a 24-year-old man allegedly implicated in the shooting was charged.
Makhura said he visited the area where the boy Luke Tibbets, 3, was wounded in crossfire on Saturday evening.
“Locals raised issues including that of the state of policing and levels of crime,” Makhura told journalists at the police station.
He said the community complained that people arrested for various crimes were usually released “and back on the streets the next day”.
“I emphasised that they should not take matters into their own hands,” Makhura said, adding that the suspect should be denied bail.
“Our police force is competent but the community was complaining about this police station yesterday.
“We are here to fix that and deal with these issues.”
He said the only way to eradicate crime was for the community and the police to work together.
The boy and a 26-year-old man who were travelling in separate cars were hit by stray bullets in the shooting on Saturday.
The man was shot in the right arm. He was treated and discharged.
The boy, however, is in a critical condition in hospital.
People who witnessed the shooting identified the man and reported him to the police.
No other arrests have been made and the cause of the shooting was unknown.
The suspect was expected to appear in the Newlands Magistrate's Court on Tuesday. - Sapa