As Delft sees an increase in murders, another man was shot and killed last night, while another was wounded in the same incident.
Police spokesperson Sergeant Wesley Twigg: “According to reports, Delft police were called to the crime scene where they found the victims with gunshot wounds to their bodies. The 30-year-old male was declared deceased on the scene by paramedics, and the other victim was taken to a medical facility for medical treatment. The motive for the shooting is yet to be established. The suspect/s fled the scene and are yet to be arrested.”
Chairperson of the Delft Community Police Forum(CPF), Pastor Charles George, said: “The shooting of these youngsters remains very disturbing, and we are definitely losing the war on crime. This type of incident creates an environment for more crime to take place. As the eyewitnesses reported, these guys just came and started shooting for no apparent reason.
“If young people are continuing to be killed on a daily basis, then we are definitely heading in the wrong direction. More policing? I don’t know. Change at the head of the police department? I don’t know. What I do know is that we are using the wrong tools to fight crime within the 21st century,” he said.
Between January and March this year, police recorded 54 murders. This is in comparison to 46 for the same period in 2021.
A criminologist at Stellenbosch University's political science department, Guy Lamb, said: “What we saw was the reduction in murders in Delft before lockdown. (However), in recent times, increases in murders and other violent crimes are because of gang wars that have been going on and also access to firearms and retaliations.”
Anyone with any information about the incident can contact Crime Stop on 0860 010 111.