Siyavuya Mzantsi
A 6-year-old girl and three boys – aged 8, 11 and 14 – were among seven people wounded in two shooting incidents on the Cape Flats at the weekend.
The Hanover Park girl is recovering in hospital after a stray bullet hit her in the thigh as she sat in her home in Mentz Court yesterday morning.
“My daughter was watching cartoons on TV when she was hit by a bullet. We are in hospital now and I am not sure whether they are going to remove the bullet or not. She is fine I can say, but something needs to be done because she is not the first (wounded) and not the last one,” the child’s mother said.
She refused to have her name published as she feared for her safety and did not want her child identified. The girl was in a stable condition, she said.
“I am tired about these gang shootings in our area. People do not know what is happening in the communities we live in.”
Philippi police station spokesman Lance Goliath said: “A stray bullet penetrated the front door and went into the left thigh of the girl while she was sitting on a couch.”
He said no one had been arrested and it was unclear if the shooting was gang-related.
The girl was wounded hours after a man was shot and killed in nearby Pinati Estate.
“At about 4.55am on Sunday a 27-year-old male was shot and killed in Shaun Street in front of Rudi’s Butchery. The man suffered a single gunshot wound in his back. The gunman fled the crime scene on foot and is still at large. The public is urged to come forward with information with regards to the killing,” said Goliath.
Community activist Clinton Abrahams said the shootings were a sign more needed to be done. He said 21 people were shot during gang wars in Hanover Park this year.
Meanwhile, two men were due to appear at the Mitchells Plain Magistrate’s Court today after three children and two adults were shot in Beacon Valley in Mitchells Plain on Friday.
“It is alleged that unknown suspects in a LDV fired several shots at the victims. Swift action by our members who responded to the incident led to the arrest of two suspects in a nearby street,” police spokesman FC van Wyk said.
“Police responded to a shooting incident in Cadillac Street. They discovered five victims – minors aged 8, 11 and 14, an 18-year-old man and a 36-year-old woman – who had been shot. All the victims were treated at the scene before being taken to a nearby hospital,” he said.
Anyone with information can call Crime Stop at 08600 10111 or anonymously SMS Crime Line on 32211.