Residents of Wynberg are grappling with shock following the fatal shooting of an alleged intruder who was accused of breaking into a home in the area.
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Authorities were alerted to the incident on Mission Road yesterday, where the suspect met his demise after being gunned down. Wesley Twigg, a police spokesperson, disclosed that murder and house robbery cases have been opened for investigation in connection with the incident.
Twigg further stated, ‘According to reports, police members attended the crime scene where they found an unknown male with a gunshot wound to his chest. The circumstances surrounding the incident are the subject of a police investigation. No arrests have been made.’
Carmen Siebritz, the ward councillor, revealed her attempt to console the affected homeowners upon learning of the distressing event. ‘I reached out to them but they were in such a state,’ Siebritz recounted, ‘the wife was very traumatised, she couldn’t speak properly because at the time the police were still busy processing the scene.’
Shamila Nicholson, chairperson of the Community Policing Forum (CPF), expressed concern yesterday over the lack of information surrounding the recent incident.
‘The investigation is still being done, we don’t have all the feedback from Saps regarding it. All that we know is that it was an intruder,’ Nicholson stated.
‘We are shocked by this incident. This is not something that happens in Wynberg, the last shooting we had was at the taxi rank.’
Ward Councillor Carmen Siebritz disclosed ongoing efforts to tackle the rising crime rates in the area. ‘Just last week, not in Mission Road but quite close by, we received 16 additional law enforcement officers who will be able to clamp-down on the theft of infrastructure,’ Siebritz revealed.
She further highlighted staffing shortages in Wynberg and the limited resources available for law enforcement. Reflecting on the broader context, Siebritz suggested a correlation between the increase in crime and the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
‘In my opinion, the increase in crime came about since Covid,’ she noted. ‘We don’t know where the evictees went after the mass eviction earlier this year.’
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Picture: Felix Dlangamandla / Gallo Images