Cape Town - For ten days straight Worcester has been terrorised by gang violence, reaching its peak on Monday night when two people were murdered and nine houses were set alight.
Police spokesman FC Van Wyk said the area remains volatile, even though police managed to defuse the situation during the early hours of Tuesday morning.
"The violence can be attributed to ongoing tension between rival gangs. (Monday) night there were reports of two murders and four attempted murders in different locations of Avian Park,” said Van Wyk.
Police are investigating cases of violence, malicious damage to property, two cases of murder and four of attempted murder. No arrests have been made yet.
Police are maintaining a presence in Worcester
Police will remain in the area to monitor the situation until stability has been restored, said Van Wyk.
Last week Sunday a 24-year-old man was arrested after a 20-year-old man was shot dead at Riverview block on Sunday.
On Tuesday morning a 17-year-old man was shot at Avian Park in what is believed to have been a retaliatory attack. Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the alleged murder.
In response to the murders, residents took to the streets in protest and burnt tyres, hindering the flow of traffic.
By Friday a witness who chose to remain anonymous reported that violence had erupted again and this continued sporadically until it escalated into all out terror on Monday.
On Monday the R43 was closed to traffic due to shooting in the vicinity of Avian Park. As many as 200 shots were fired, the witness said.
Van Wyk requested that anyone with any information related to the shootings to contact Crime Stop on 08600 10111.