A surge in gang violence engulfed Cape Flats with 58 shooting incidents recorded within a mere two-hour span on Saturday, 14 October 2023.
Cape Flats shooting incidents: Here’s everything you must know
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The early hours of Saturday witnessed an outbreak of brutal gang violence across several areas in Cape Flats, specifically in Manenberg, Hanover Park, and Delft.
The cycle of violence spiralled as rival gangs clashed, resulting in six people being shot in several different episodes, with a number of them meeting a fatal end.
The City of Cape Town’s MEC for Public Safety JP Smith disclosed a grim figure of 177 shots fired across 58 shooting incidents in merely two hours, highlighting an unprecedented level of gang warfare that has turned community zones into battlefields.
The violence wasn’t confined to this time frame; within the last 24 hours, a total of 144 shooting incidents were reported across four designated Shotspotter areas: Nyanga, Manenberg, Hanover Park, and Lavenderhill.
This alarming figure has escalated to a staggering 842 shooting incidents over the last 30 days.
JP Smith added that before the deployment of Shotspotter, a gunshot detection technology that uses sophisticated acoustic sensors to detect, locate and alert law enforcement agencies and security personnel about illegal gunfire incidents in real-time, the extent of the menace was somewhat obscured due to lack of concrete data.
“Before we rolled out this technology, our SAPS had no definite or certain statistics to confirm exactly how grave the situation really was. Now we have the documented evidence,” he revealed.
The MEC raised concerning questions over the origins of support and financing for these gangs, pointing towards an almost ceaseless supply of firearms and ammunition fueling the battles for territorial dominance.
“Who is supporting and financing the gangs and their battles for increased territory? Where are they obtaining an almost endless supply of firearms and ammunition?” Smith asked.
The authorities’ efforts yielded some results with the confiscation of four firearms and several arrests made on Friday, 13 October 2023. Yet, the larger issue concerning the source of this incessant violence remains unaddressed.
Furthermore, the promises made by Minister Bheki Cele regarding the deployment of Shotspotter technology in other needy communities and the rolling out of over 2000 police officers to the Western Cape have not seen the light of day.
The MEC emphasised that the promised 2000 officers would fall short in restoring peace and order in the afflicted communities.