Cape Town – Western Cape Premier Alan Winde and Community Safety MEC Albert Fritz have welcomed the arrest of three suspects after a woman was killed and seven others injured, including three children, at a party in Mandalay, Mitchells Plain.
’’We welcome the swift arrest of three suspects following a tracing operation last night by the Anti-Gang Unit and we will be looking to find out what proactive steps crime intelligence will be taking to prevent this horrific incident from repeating itself.
’’We cannot allow our communities to live in a constant state of fear and to be terrorised by gangsters.”
It was reported that gunmen in a green Honda Ballade fired at people attending a 21st birthday party in Montclair Road at around 8.20pm on Saturday.
David Mafate, who lives at the house where the shooting occurred, told News24: ’’We heard the (murdered) woman shouting outside, 'Please don't kill me'.
’’And the next moment we saw a car coming past and the shooting (started). The woman they shot was with us at the party - she went to the shop just a few doors down to buy something.
’’Many of the guests who were here are nurses, teachers and youngsters. No one has any links to any gangsters. Everyone was terrified when they heard eight gunshots.’’
However, Netwerk24 reported a source as saying that members of the Mongrels gang had allegedly attended the party in Montclair Road, and that the incident could be linked to the continuing war between the Americans gang and the Mongrels. Soon after the shooting, a house in Montclair Road linked to the Americans reportedly came under fire.
The Mitchells Plain community policing forum’s Byron de Villiers told EWN: “There were some leads given by the community and that was obviously followed up. If we could have more of that type of interaction, there would be less and less crime, to be honest.’’
Today, Winde and Fritz will be meeting with the provincial police commissioner, Major-General Thembisile Patekile, to receive a briefing on the SAPS’s response following the drive-by shooting.
Winde said: “No stone must be left unturned in ensuring that all those responsible are brought to book and end up behind bars. We will therefore be meeting with the provincial commissioner to receive an update on the implementation of the 72-hour action plan and SAPS’s plans going forward.’’
Fritz said: “We will never accept that this kind of violence is normal. Violence has absolutely no place in our society and I call on the community to come forward and share any information they might have which will result in the successful prosecution of those guilty parties.
“My department will be opening a court watching brief unit to monitor these court processes to ensure that this matter is not simply struck off the court roll, but that where inefficiencies do appear, that they are instead spotted and addressed.
’’We want convictions. We want to make sure people pay for their crimes.”
IOL