Cape Town – A 6-year-old was among several people who had a narrow escape during separate gang-related shootings on the Cape Flats at the weekend.
The boy, who is reportedly recovering in hospital, was caught in the crossfire of rival gangs at about 9.30am on Saturday in Logonda Street, Beacon Valley.
A few minutes after that shooting, and in the same area, two men, aged 23 and 40, were shot and injured in Ferrari Crescent.
Hours later in Manenberg, a 16-year-old bystander was shot in the leg in another gang-related shooting.
The teen was standing near a shop in Jordan Street, Manenberg, when she was hit.
Police spokesperson Andrè Traut said yesterday the circumstances of the shootings were being investigated, and no arrests had been made yet.
The shootings comes despite the deployment of the SA National Defence Force (SANDF), which residents and Community Policing Forum (CPF) groups hoped would lessen gun-related violence.
Mitchells Plain CPF chairperson Abie Isaacs said the situation in Mitchells Plain remained very tense, which led to their requesting police for more police visibility.
“We condemn the shootings which left a child and other people hospitalised.
“The area needed extra force because shootings went on sporadically in various places.
“We are seriously concerned that we are still experiencing the same problem in the Cape Flats amid the government’s Operation Success. Residents are seeking answers from us and we don’t have (any),” Isaacs said.
Isaacs said for the past 14 days police operations have not achieved what residents called for.
“We are not happy with how it has been so far. We have noticed the army has become tourists spending three hours or less in a area and moving to the next,” Isaacs said.
In Manenberg, a human chain was made in Duinefontein Road yesterday morning in which residents called for peace.
Churches had cut their services short so churchgoers could join.
Some held placards reading: “We are taking our streets back” and “An injury to one is an injury to all.”
Co-ordinator Abdul Karriem Adams said: “Every week someone is either killed or injured.
‘‘We need change in Manenberg and the protest is to show the government that people are still living in fear of not knowing where the next gunshot will come from.
“Nothing much has changed in the area. We have hope that our area can be better. We will keep on hosting pickets until something is done.”