Three held for attempted murder

AFP

File photo: Kevork Djansezian, AFP

Cape Town - Elsies River police have arrested three men for attempted murder after shots were fired near a road block in Leonsdale.

Police officers were inspecting vehicles when shots rang out nearby in Boater Close last night, said police spokesman Colonel Andre Traut.

Police arrested three suspects, aged 22, 23 and 24. The suspects were unarmed, but police found two firearms nearby which were to be sent for ballistic testing to determine if they could be linked to the shooting. The firearms were reported stolen by their owners in Belhar and Cloetesville.

“We assume that the incident is related to gang activity in the area,” said Traut. No one was injured in the shooting.

Elsies River is, along with Hanover Park, Lavender Hill and Manenberg, one of Cape Town’s most hotly contested turfs in the city’s gang wars.

Between 2007 and 2012, police in those neighbourhoods referred 1 469 murder cases to the National Prosecuting Authority.

l The same group of Elsies River police officers also arrested a man in connection with an incident of theft from a vehicle at GrandWest Casino.

A firearm and a laptop were stolen from the car.

Police investigated and arrested a 33-year-old man, and retrieved the stolen items.

“We want to thank the public for their support and co-operation in apprehending these suspects. Police can never do it alone,” said Elsies River station commander Brigadier Denise Brand. She congratulated the officers involved in the investigations and arrests.

Cape Argus