A man aged 23 was murdered, allegedly by a 17-year-old, in front of scores of residents and festival-goers shortly after the Observatory Festival of Arts ended early on Saturday.
Police are yet to release his name because his next of kin had not been informed.
On Sunday Woodstock police spokesman Hilton Malila said the murder in Lower Main Road happened about two hours after official celebrations had ended.
A 17-year-old from Salt River was arrested and was expected to appear in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on Monday on a murder charge.
Business owners allege the suspect is part of a gang called the Nice Time Kids, which they say is notorious for criminal activities in the area.
A security guard employed by Vetus Schola Security Services, and who asked not to be named, witnessed the incident: “I saw the (suspect) and about 10 of his friends coming out of Climax (Club). They were shouting and swearing and looked drunk. I could see they were troublemakers.
“They made their way across the road and while walking through the crowd, the teenager and victim knocked into each other.
“I heard the (suspect) shouting, ‘Why did you push me, why did you push me?’ I then called my controller who notified the supervisor because there we were only two guards present and we were outnumbered. The next thing I saw, the (suspect) took a glass bottle and stabbed the (victim) in the neck.”
The guard said the group fled but police managed to arrest the suspect who “seemed confused and in shock”.
“People were really shocked. The mood just changed.”
The murder weapon was not found.
Malila said it was unclear what the two had been arguing about. More people are wanted for questioning as police believe they could provide further information.
The festival, which focused on arts and culture and included a number of musicians performing in clubs and outdoors, started on Friday and ended on Sunday.
Andrew Fife, chairman of the Observatory Business Forum, said he believed the murder was linked to gang activity in the Salt River area and involved drugs.
Ancois Bester of the Observatory Improvement District said:
“We don’t believe the festival was the cause of the murder. The incident took place outside our perimeter, after the festival,” she said. - Cape Times