Gang violence in Hanover Park continues to show no signs of slowing down as “every gang in the community at war”.
This comes after about 13 murders have been reported from the community since the start of the festive period.
And the bloodshed continued on Thursday evening when a 20-year-old was gunned down after sustaining a gunshot wound to the head in Surwood Walk in what is believed to be a gang-related incident.
Police spokesperson Captain FC van Wyk confirmed that Philippi police are investigating a case of murder.
Van Wyk reported: “Circumstances surrounding a shooting incident on 15 January at about 8.59pm at Surwood Walk, Hanover Park, Philippi, in which a 20-year old male was shot and fatally wounded are under investigation. Philippi SAPS registered a murder case for investigation.
“Philippi SAPS members attended to a shooting incident at the mentioned address and on their arrival they found the body of a male who sustained a gunshot wound to his head.
“The victim was declared deceased on the scene by medical personnel. The motive is believed to be gang related.”
Police are appealing to anyone with information about this shooting incident to contact Crime Stop on 08600 10111 or use the mobile application MySAPS anonymously.
Public relations officer for the Hanover Park Community Police Forum, Kashiefa Mohammed said the area is still a war zone as every gang is at war.
She said a meeting will be held on Monday regarding crime prevention plans to be implemented for the year ahead.
Mohammed told the Daily Voice: “It never stops in Hanover Park. From Christmas till now, I think we are sitting on about 13 murders. We just came from the festive season and it is still early in the year but we do have a lot of police visibility and forces on the ground in Hanover Park.
“We are going into a meeting on Monday and will be planning on how we are going to deal with this ongoing gang war in Hanover Park because at this moment, every gang in Hanover Park is at war.”