Six people were shot and wounded during two drive-by shootings in Kensington and Factreton at the weekend.
Kensington CPF spokesperson Cheslyn Steenberg said they visited the crime scenes, and discovered the victims were innocent bystanders who were caught in crossfire between rival gangs.
“We feel our residents are hostages in their own homes, they are not even safe in their houses, because a bullet went right through the window into the bedroom of a nearby home, ricocheting, but thankfully no one was injured,” Steenberg said.
He urged police to review their allocation of resources to the two areas, and said they would appreciate immediate operational access and the constant presence of the police’s Combat Unit.
Kensington residents recently described the lack of policing resources in their area as a life-threatening shortage and said the ratio was sometimes one officer to 11 000 people.
In a complaint sent to provincial police commissioner Khombinkosi Jula, resident Kevin Alexander said Kensington and Factreton had a population of about 220 00 people, and there were frequently only four members on duty at a time, which meant a police/population ratio of 1:5 500.
If there were only two members on patrol, it left residents with a ratio of 1:11 000, Alexander said.
About the weekend’s incidents, police spokesperson André Traut said: “A black VW Polo’s occupants shot and wounded a 23-year-old man in Third Street, Kensington at about 7.45pm on Saturday night. The shooters fled the scene and are yet to be arrested.
“At around the same time, occupants of a white Toyota Venture shot and wounded five people in Glider Street, Kensington. The victims are a female aged 27 and four males aged 22, 26, 27, 27 and 57. The suspects fled and are yet to be arrested.”
He said all six victims were receiving medical care: “While the motive for the attacks is yet to be established, additional resources have been deployed to the area to quell the violence. Detectives are pursuing all avenues to apprehend those responsible for the attempted murders of the six people.”
Resident Andrea Morley said she heard shots outside her door on Friday night.
On Facebook, she wrote: “Yeah, we’re living in a war zone, but it ain’t all that we are about.
"We have so much more than gangsterism and drugs to offer, as a community these negative influences are not the entire population of the community. They are only but a tiny percentage (of our community).
“Let’s glorify the strong, hard-working people in our communities and work towards creating a better frame of mind for those positive folk.”
raphael.wolf.inl.co.za