Cape Town - Manenberg residents were trapped in their homes on Saturday by gang violence that began erupting in the early morning.
Gang rivals the Americans, Clever Kids and Hard Livings opened fire on each other, killing three people, while another three were left severely wounded.
There’s been an additional integrated deployment of police specialised units and other law enforcement institutes and their equivalent, such as the City’s Traffic Service and Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (Leap) in Manenberg, following several shooting complaints.
At about 2am, a young woman was shot and killed in Great Fish Avenue. At 5.45am, a 30-year-old man was shot and fatally wounded and two others, a 40-year-old man and a 46-year-old woman, were shot and injured at premises in Scheldt Road.
According to police spokesperson FC van Wyk, reports indicate that unidentified gang members went into a house at Scheldt Road searching for a particular individual.
Learning that their intended target was not home, they began to shoot at the house, wounding its occupants.
At about 6am, a 26-year-old man was killed in Sabie Road after he sustained a fatal gunshot wound to his upper body.
Less than an hour later, at about 6.45am, a 59-year-old woman was caught in the crossfire and hit in the upper leg.
“During this gang conflict, two men were taken to a nearby emergency medical facility where both succumbed due to injuries sustained. They were brought in by unknown persons.
“The investigation will be conducted by the Manenberg SAPS Serious Violent Crimes unit. Four cases of murder and two attempted murders are being investigated,” said Van Wyk.
Manenberg Community Police Forum (CPF) spokesperson Pedro Visagie said they had been exposed to the violence almost every day for the past six months.
Residents occupying the bottom floor of the block of flats are the most impacted by the ongoing violence.
“Since the gang violence erupted on Saturday morning, things have been a bit calmer.
“There’s extra police visibility, including law enforcement and the metro. As CPF we encourage anyone and everyone who knows these perpetrators to come forward and report them.
“It is not practical to have this much police in one area every day, it will cause a strain on the system.
“Residents must report these people so they can be dealt with.”
Anyone who can assist the police can contact Manenberg SAPS on 021 699 9400 or Crime Stop anonymously on 08600 10111, or use the mobile application MySAPS.