In a span of 24 hours, three individuals fell victim to fatal shootings in Rocklands, Mitchells Plain, igniting concerns over an intensifying gang conflict.
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These incidents are suspected to be retaliatory actions following the assassination of former Americans gang leader Mogamat Sadeka Madatt (55), who was gunned down last month in Kapteinsklip, allegedly in a gang-related attack.
On Saturday evening, two individuals were shot, resulting in one fatality, along Gold Street in Rocklands, in what appeared to be a drive-by shooting. Concurrently, another individual was fatally shot in the nearby Viscount Avenue.
Yesterday, at approximately noon, another fatal shooting occurred in broad daylight near the railway line in Rocklands.
Lieutenant Colonel Malcolm Pojie, a spokesperson for the police, has confirmed the shootings and stated that no arrests have been made at this time.
‘Mitchells Plain SAPS opened a case of murder and a charge of attempted murder following a shooting incident that claimed the life of a 17-year-old boy and injured another 18-year-old boy on Saturday, 11 May 2024, at approximately 8:24pm.’
‘It is alleged that the two were shot at by rival gang members in Gold Street in Rocklands, Mitchells Plain.’
‘When members arrived at the scene, they were informed that the victims were already transported to a medical facility by private transport. The 17-year-old succumbed to multiple gunshot wounds to the upper body while the other suffered a gunshot wound to the leg.’
According to the Daily Voice, there is currently a brewing gang conflict between the Americans and the Fancy Boys.
‘It is very bad at the moment. The man who was shot at the train line was sitting outside in the sun when one of the Fancy Boys came and shot him, he is not a gangster but his brother is.’
‘The Americans started this on Saturday night when they shot those boys in Gold Street and the Fancy Boys retaliated by shooting somebody dead in Viscount. It is all retaliation.’
‘They are shooting any time of the day, they do not care. It is like the police can’t control it anymore, it is very bad, our young people don’t have a vision in life, they are just killing each other like nothing,’ says the scared resident.
Abie Isaacs from the Cape Flats Safety Forum has reiterated the call for military deployment in Rocklands to suppress the gang violence.
He adds, ‘We note that communities are in fear in terms of their children safe returning to schools. This will (also) have an effect on the elections as members of the community won’t make it to the voting booths because of these shootings.’
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Picture: Screenshot / Google Maps
