CAPE TOWN, Sept. 10– Six people were killed in shootings across Cape Town, the legislative capital of South Africa, on Tuesday, adding to a spate of gun violence in Western Cape Province that has pushed police to step up their response.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the South African Police Service (SAPS) confirmed that six people, including four women, were shot dead in separate shooting incidents in Kraaifontein, a town in the Northern Suburbs of Cape Town.
“Kraaifontein police are investigating three double murders in separate shooting incidents on Tuesday,” it said.
According to police, the first shooting took place at 11:30 p.m. local time on Molefe Street, Wallacedene, where two women aged 19 and 25 were killed and a 24-year-old woman was injured.
About 10 minutes later, two women in their 20s were found shot in the head in their bedroom in the same area. Police said the two incidents may be linked.
In an unrelated case earlier that night, at 9:50 p.m., two people aged 20 and 22 sustained gunshot wounds and were declared dead at the scene.
No arrests have been made, and the motives remain unclear, police said. The killings add to a surge of suspected gang violence in the area.
Last week, a man was shot dead outside a magistrate’s court in what police believe was a gang-related attack — the third killing at a Cape Town court since April.
Meanwhile, South African Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia visited Western Cape on Tuesday to help “implement practical, community-driven interventions to combat gang violence and foster safety.”
Following a community engagement at a local police station on Tuesday, Cachalia said crime intelligence and detective services have been identified as areas that require further resourcing and development to fight serious crime such as gang violence.
“What we need is enhanced policing. We have a plan to achieve this, but over time, the focus must be on intelligence-driven policing,” he stressed. (Xinhua)
