The community has been plagued by ongoing deadly gang battles and community leader Julian Unthank said that residents reported active shootings to police but by the time they eventually arrived, the scene was cleared.
Picture: Winnie Theletsane/EWN.
CAPE TOWN – An Eerste River community leader said that residents were fed-up with police who took their time to respond to gang-related shootings in the area.
This after a 13-year-old girl was wounded in Kleinvlei over the weekend.
The teenager was rushed to hospital following Saturday’s incident.
Police are investigating a case of attempted murder and no arrests have been made.
Chairperson of the Concerned Residents Against Crime group, Julian Unthank, said that the 13-year-old girl was hit by a stray bullet when rival gang members fired shots at one another in Piet My Vrou Street.
The community has been plagued by ongoing deadly gang battles and Unthank said that residents reported active shootings to police but by the time they eventually arrived, the scene was cleared.
“The community is getting fed up because the shootings are now happening frequently. The community is now really gatvol with this situation with the police, who rock up long after the incident.”
Unthank said that this was the case following a shoot-out on Friday night.
“The police also took their own sweet time after the incident was done. By then, the guys with the guns were gone. And the community is scared to notify the police about who is carrying the guns.”
In July, a three-year-old girl died after she was hit by a gangster’s stray bullet in Heather Park, also in Eerste River.
Last week, 11-year-old Nahemia Classen was killed in a gang shooting in Parkwood.
Gang violence has claimed the lives of at least six children across Cape Town since the start of the year.
