Johannesburg - Gauteng police have deployed extra resources, including the Anti-Gang Unit, following a shooting on Friday in Eldorado Park.
This comes after five people were reported to have been killed since Friday in the communities of Eldorado Park and Westbury due to the resurgence of gang-related violence in these communities.
According to a police report, at least two other people were taken to hospital.
Police say they are investigating the circumstances surrounding the deaths, and no arrests have been made as yet.
Police spokesperson Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi said provincial commissioner General Elias Mawela has deployed resources to work on the cases that have been plaguing these communities for years now.
In the meantime, the SAPS said ongoing investigations by the Anti-Gang Unit (AGU) in the province are bearing fruit after the arrest of 73 gangsters in connection with 90 criminal acts.
The police reported that of these, three people have been convicted and sentenced to life in prison, with an additional combined 130 years in prison.
The rest are still behind bars or on trial for a spate of crimes such as murder, attempted murder, possession of weapons and ammunition, and possession of suspected motor vehicles, and drugs, among others.
These police breakthroughs are only for gang-related criminal activities within the Sophiatown, Langlaagte, and Eldorado Park areas within the Johannesburg district.
Gauteng police commissioner Elias Mawela said some of the suspects have been positively linked to crimes committed in more than one policing precinct.
"The fact that these 73 are facing 90 charges tells us that they were the source of terror within those areas, and further charges against them cannot be ruled out as the Anti-Gang Unit is still investigating," General Mawela said.
The SAPS in Gauteng is anticipating the best outcomes for the dockets on trial, considering the level of investigations that culminated in the arrests and the evidence gathered.
Last month, a learner was stabbed at Eldorado Park Secondary School while the Legislature’s Portfolio Committee on Community Safety and the Education Committee were at the school on an unannounced oversight visit.
The learner was allegedly stabbed by an illegal intruder at the school, who fled the scene.
The Star