Cape Town - A 26-year-old suspect was arrested in Paarl this afternoon in connection with the shooting of Anti-Gang Unit members in Samora Machel on Wednesday morning, said the South African Police Service (SAPS).
Anti-Gang Unit members were shot and injured as they were tracing suspects in Samora Machel, said police spokesperson Novela Potelwa.
They were on a tracing operation in Sweet Home Farm informal settlement and had just apprehended one suspect allegedly linked to recent murders in Samora Machel.
"As the members were searching for another suspect also sought for serious crime in the area, shots came from one of the shacks," said Potelwa.
The attack comes just a day after Police Minister Bheki Cele held his ministerial stakeholder engagement with community leaders from the Samora Machel informal settlement.
Cele was speaking to community leaders about their complaints on the issue of visible policing in the area, and he admitted there were problems with policing in the province.
The minister flew out to Johannesburg after his engagement, but then return back to Cape Town on Wednesday morning after news of the AGU shooting.
While visiting Melomed Gatesville Hospital, where the injured AGU members were being treated, Cele said that they have deployed a 72-hour plan using 200 officers to lock down Samora Machel.
Cele has alleged that one of the factors contributed to the shooting and wounding of their members was the lack of proper lighting and streets and streets addresses in the Area.
Western Cape detective boss Major General Jeremy Vearey corroborated the Samora Machel lock down stating that "we have tracked down and find one weapon, a gun, used in the shooting".
SAPS added that the investigation into those responsible for the shooting continues.