On Monday night, two young boys were caught and killed in the crossfire between gangs in Hanover Park.
Also read: Six people killed in less than 24 hours in the Cape Flats
Just after 5pm, six-year-old Zakariyah Noble sustained a gunshot wound to the chest at Rywood Walk. He was transported to a local hospital, where he was declared deceased.
‘He had bled too much. They weren’t able to save him,’ Kieyamodien Noble, Zakariyah’s father, told News24. ‘I can’t believe I am saying this – he died. My mind can’t accept that this is real. He just turned six in July.’
‘He had next year already planned out – he was going to Grade 1 at Turfhall Primary and would finally get to swap his Grade R shorts and T-shirt for a tie and real school shoes. He was so excited about that.’
Kasifah Morkel, the little boy’s grandmother, says he recently dressed up as a policeman for career day at school. He believed he would ‘lock up the bad people’.
‘He hated the gang violence. He would tell everyone to stay inside when he heard the gunshots going off. He wouldn’t let his sister out of his sight when the gang violence got out of hand. He was very overprotective and a lovable child.’
On the same day of the shooting, a five-year-old boy was brought into the trauma unit at the same hospital. Police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Malcolm Pojie says the boy was electrocuted after he stepped onto an electricity cable in the street when he tried to flee a shooting incident in Ash Crescent.
‘He was taken to a local medical facility for medical treatment. He unfortunately had already succumbed to death.’
Western Cape police are investigating both incidents, which follow a bloody weekend on the Cape Flats.
According to News24, shootings over the weekend resulted in at least 10 deaths and several injuries. Police deployed additional resources and conducted high-density patrols in areas such as Lavender Hill, Manenberg and Hanover Park.
On Saturday alone, the City’s gunfire detection system recorded more than 170 shots in 58 shooting incidents in Nyanga, Manenberg, Hanover Park and Lavender Hill. Across the four areas, about 144 shooting incidents were recorded within the span of 24 hours.
Weldon Cameron, the deputy chair of Philippi’s community policing forum (CPF), says the organisation is very concerned about the ongoing violence.
‘In light of recent shooting incidents in our community, the executive committee urges residents to stay vigilant, report any suspicious activities, and (…) collaborate with law enforcement to ensure the safety of our neighbourhoods.’
Also read:
Weekend violence sees two teenagers among 10 killed in Cape Town
Picture: Jay Rembert / Unsplash