Chaos erupted in Manenberg over the weekend where eight people being shot in six hours as rival gangs went on an early-morning spree.
The terrifying shootings were captured on cellphone cameras by residents and shared on social media, showing skollies klapping skote in broad daylight, seemingly min gespin about the increased police patrols in the area.
Four people were killed and four injured.
Manenberg SAPS commander Sanele Zama says the trouble started in the early hours of Saturday when a 36-year-old woman was killed in Greatfish Avenue.
“Manenberg residents were trapped in their homes as members of the Americans, Clever Kids and Hard Livings gang opened fire indiscriminately starting a gang conflict that left several dead and some with serious injuries,” Zama said.
“At 2am, a female was shot and killed in Greatfish Avenue and then all hell broke loose as the community was awakened by gunfire.”
According to a Daily Voice source, the woman was struck in the abdomen and ran down the street, where she collapsed and died.
The Daily Voice visited her home, but the family did not want to be interviewed.
Zama says before 6am, a 30-year-old man was shot and killed in Scheldt Road.
“It is alleged that members of an opposing gang attacked the house in search of their intended target and as he was not there, they shot up the house, injuring the occupants,” the top cop explained. “One male died and a 46-year-old woman and a 40-year-old man were injured.”
Zama says less than 15 minutes later, a 26-year-old male was shot and killed in Sabie Road.
“[Then] at 6.45am, a 59-year-old female was caught in the crossfire. As the gangs started to shoot, she was hit in the upper leg as she went to look and see what was happening.
“During this gang conflict, two males were taken to the Heideveld Emergency Centre where one victim succumbed to his wounds and the other remains in a critical condition.”
Zama says cases of murder and attempted murder are being investigated and additional resources have been deployed to quell the violence.
Meanwhile, Mayco member for Safety and Security, JP Smith, says within just two hours, the ShotSpotter gunfire detection system recorded 177 shots being fired in 58 shooting incidents in various communities across the Cape Flats.
During the month of August, there were 249 shooting incidents where skollies fired 930 rounds.
Vanessa Adriaanse of the Community Police Forum says the community is gripped in fear and it isn’t clear what is behind the latest gang war.
“After the so-called peace talks, we all thought things would quieten down, but the recent shootings show that there is something deep going on between the gangs that we are unaware of,” she said.
“We want to caution the community to be careful of what they say and what they do. Even when it comes to women, we can no longer just assume they are innocent.
“The gangs do not wake up and decide to shoot a woman for no reason, but in the last gang war, we even saw women participating in gang activities.”
dailyvoice@inl.co.za