Cape Town - An all-out gang war is brewing in Mitchells Plain following the death of an alleged leader of the Hard Livings gang last week.
Douglas Berry, 47, was killed in Rocklands on Thursday afternoon. He had been shot eight times.
Police spokesperson FC van Wyk said officers were investigating a case of murder and would also be investigating if it was gang-related.
While residents thought there would be an immediate retaliation on Thursday night, their fears were allayed when gang members went to Berry’s house to pay their respects.
However, since Berry’s death eight people were shot between Friday and Monday, five of the shootings were fatal. The most recent killing was that of Shafiek Petersen, an alleged leader of the Hard Livings who was shot on Sunday night.
A few hours later, an alleged member of the Dixie Boys gang was shot in Eastridge. He died at the scene. No one has been arrested for the killings.
A community leader, who did not want to be named for safety reasons, said on Monday the Hard Livings gang had been very “strategic and business-like” by not initially retaliating, but now, after Petersen’s death, there could be targeted action by the Hard Livings on prominent Americans gang leaders.
Hanif Loonat, chairperson of the Community Policing Forum Cluster, said the recent deaths were worrying and pointed to a situation that was almost out of hand.
“We are very concerned, and now more than ever the community has to stand together. We have to start exposing the gangsters.”
He said the Mitchells Plain community was being held hostage by the siege.
“Everyone is at risk, people can’t be safe,” he said, warning the situation could become one in which not even the police would be able to do their work.
In a show of force, he and 500 members of the neighbourhood watches will be walking through some of the most-affected areas in Mitchells Plain at the weekend.
Jasmine Harris, a community activist, said people were fearing the worst.
“There is already so much gang violence and now, following this shooting, it has already become worse. People are saying there is going to be a war. Already there are people who died over the weekend. We are not safe and innocent people get caught up in this gang war,” Harris said.
The City’s mayco member for safety and security, JP Smith, said the newly established Stabilisation Unit would not be sent to Mitchells Plain. The unit’s task is to bring long-term stability to Manenberg first - and this, he said, would take months.
Cape Times