PAT’S PLAN

Western Cape police say they will lock down the Cape Flats' southern suburbs in response to a surge in mass shootings.

On Tuesday afternoon, Provincial commissioner Lieutenant-General Thembisile Patekile and officers walked from Steenberg to Sea Winds along Military Road, stopping vehicles as part of their operation.

Patekile said the management of SAPS in the Western Cape had resolved to adopt a range of interventions after the latest shooting incidents.

He said cordon and search operations would be carried out in identified hotspots, describing the exercise as intense and disruptive but necessary.

He explained: “This entails taking proper control of an identified area within a specified period. Residents may have to wait long to access public places, with exceptions only made in emergencies.”

He added that lockdown operations would also be enforced depending on the threat at hand, with multidisciplinary teams targeting illegal firearms, ammunition, drugs, wanted suspects, and other illicit activities.

According to police analysis, many of the murders and attempted murders stem from conflict within a specific gang, the Junky Funky Kids, according to Daily Voice reporting, compounded by the prevalence of illegal firearms.

Patekile added: “On average, SAPS confiscates 40 to 60 firearms per week. Since the beginning of the current financial year, approximately 910 arrests were effected for illegal firearms and ammunition. Through targeted operations, a total of 842 illegal firearms and numerous rounds of ammunition were seized.”

Patekile emphasised that while progress had been made, the scale of the problem required an integrated response involving communities, law enforcement agencies, and all spheres of government.

Speaking about the recent shootings, Patekile noted that the attacks were often targeted and linked to people who knew each other.

Patekile said: “It begs mentioning that in the triple murder that occurred in the Xakabantu informal settlement in Muizenberg, a key person of interest has been identified and is currently being sought.”

“When the shooting was happening in Xakabantu, the first one was in the early hours of the morning when it was still dark and there was no electricity in the informal settlement. 

“The second was later, again directed at specific homes. That tells us these are people who know each other. Environmental design plays a role too; in many settlements, there are no roads and no lights, making them difficult to police.”