Cape Town - Two days after President Cyril Ramaphosa extended the army’s deployment on the Cape Flats, four people, including three primary school pupils, were shot dead by gangsters in Clarke’s Estate in Elsies River.
Two women, the mothers of the three children, were also wounded in Tuesday night’s attack .
The attack was condemned by Community Safety MEC Albert Fritz and the Western Cape Education Department (WCED).
This incident comes two weeks after three people were killed and seven wounded in a bloody shoot-out between the Jesters and Americans gangs in Manenberg.
Clarke Estate residents claim that three alleged members of the 28s gang were behind the attack. Their mission was to eliminate an alleged Disciple’s gang member, Venito Africa, alias CJ, 19, who died in the attack.
A witness, also an alleged gangster out on parole and who survived by hiding under beds, identified the suspects, who were later nabbed by police.
The pupils who died were Adriaan Junior “AJ” Alexander, 12, who was in Grade 4 at Holy Trinity Primary and sister and brother Toslin Samuels, 9, and Malcolm Samuels, 12, who family members said were shot, execution style, in the head. Adriaan’s mother, Bianca, was shot in the back, while Mandy Samuels, the mother of the other two children, was shot in the side and thigh.
Adriaan Junior Alexander, 12, was a Grade 4 pupil at Holy Trinity.
Malcolm Samuels,12, was in Grade 4 at Clark Primary.
Toslin Samuels, 9, was a Grade 3 pupil at Clark Primary. Supplied
A family member, talking on condition of anonymity, said: “It was 10.55pm when I heard the dogs
barking in the street.
“Everyone knows that when the dogs bark late at night, it means that strangers are in the area. I was lying in bed when I heard the first shot and several shots. The next minute, I heard Bianca shouting: ‘AJ is dead.’
“Bianca didn’t knew that she was shot in the back, and when she came into the house she collapsed on the floor. With other family members, we went to the wendy house and saw the bodies of the children and Venito.”
The witness who survived apparently told family that 28s came to kill Venito. All he remembers was Venito saying: “My broer, hier kom die mense,” and then the door was kicked open and several shots fired.
Bianca’s mother, Sannie Samuels, said after she took tablets to her daughter on Monday night and walked home, she had a premonition something bad was going to happen. It was already dark and if she had turned around to warn her daughter, it would have been too late for her to return home.
Sector 4 police forum chairperson Jacobus Solomons voiced his concern following the shooting incident. Video: Henk Kruger/African News Agency
Extending his condolences to the family of the deceased and wishing the two mothers a speedy recovery, Fritz emphasised that violence had no place in society. “The extension of the SANDF deployment must ensure that joint operations between SAPS, metro police, law enforcement and other security agencies work together to identify, track down and remove gang leadership within communities.
“When we fail to combine our resources as state institutions and communities, gang leaders are not convicted for their crimes and walk freely among the innocent and
vulnerable,” Fritz said.
WCED spokesperson Bronagh Hammond said the department was absolutely devastated by the tragic and senseless killing of three pupils. She added that counselling would be provided for affected pupils and teachers.
Residents and pupils yesterday staged a march, shouting: “Enough is enough.” Community leader Solly Solomons said they would turn up in great numbers at the court appearance of the suspects. He expressed fears of an all-out gang war and urged police to intensify their visibility in the area.
Police spokesperson Novela Potelwa said the Anti-Gang Unit members, Elsies River crime-
prevention police and crime intelligence had worked through the night and arrested two suspects, aged 30 and 36. A third was nabbed yesterday and the 27-year-old would be charged along with his alleged accomplices.
@TheCapeArgus