Residents say they are under siege after a young man was killed and three others were rushed to hospital with gunshot wounds in the ongoing gang violence in Lotus River and Ottery.
The victims were sitting at a park when unknown shooters opened fire at them on Tuesday afternoon around 5pm.
Police spokesperson, Warrant Officer Joseph Swartbooi says Grassy Park Serious and Violent Crimes detectives are hard at work pursuing leads in a bid to apprehend the suspects who are responsible for the death of a 24-year-old man and the attempted murder of three others on an open field in Ottery.
Swartbooi says: “Reports suggested that at around 5:15pm unknown gunmen opened fire at the victims.
“One male did not survive the onslaught on his life while two males and a female were admitted to hospital with gunshot wounds.
“The motive for this murder and three counts of attempted murders is believed to be gang related.”
A resident says the shootings have been non-stop since the murder of a barber on 21 June.
The anonymous local reveals: “We are constantly scared to walk or drive around in the area. The problem is now in Ottery and Lotus River.
“This has been ongoing since the shooting of the barber, and what I understand about that is that the deceased was reportedly innocent.
“Then two other innocent people were killed, more were shot and then on Tuesday the four were shot.
“The guy who died covered his girlfriend with his body. If he hadn’t done that then she would have died too.”
“Lotus River and Ottery are under siege, we are trapped in our homes and the hotspot seems to be De Wet Road.”
Local Community Policing Forum deputy chairperson Nicole Jacobus urged residents to report suspects to the police.
She says: “We hear people preaching that they want the army to come into the area, but that won’t help if they are not told who the shooters are.
“On that note, more police officers have been deployed in the area to combat this. They need assistance from the community, they can’t do this alone.
“We also need the residents to stop attacking police when they are trying to do their job.
“At the moment we can’t say why there is a war in Lotus River/Ottery, just that we are concerned. We are still trying to find out the tally of the murders and attempted murders in the last few weeks.”
The police have made an appeal made to anyone with information to please call Crime Stop on 08600 10111 or by using the mobile application MySAPS anonymously.