A violent weekend has left the community of Manenberg reeling after a shooter killed two people and injured two others before meeting his own fatal end in what police suspect is gang-related violence.
Story Summary:
- A gunman opened fire in Manenberg, killing two and injuring two others, before he was fatally shot later.
- The violence marks a return of gang-related unrest in an area that recently saw a period of calm.
- Community leaders are calling for more police resources amid fears of escalating gang violence.
Several killed in bloody weekend in Manenberg
The shootings unfolded on Sunday, sending shockwaves through the area and sparking calls for increased police resources to prevent further bloodshed.
Cape Town SAPS confirmed that the first incident occurred at approximately 08:40 on Storms River Walk.
Officers arrived at the scene to find a 23-year-old man and a 17-year-old girl suffering from gunshot wounds.
Both succumbed to their injuries, with the young woman passing away later in hospital. Two other men, aged 26 and 33, sustained injuries and were treated by medical teams.
Shortly after the initial shooting, police responded to reports of another incident just blocks away, where they discovered the body of a 33-year-old man with multiple gunshot wounds.
Authorities suspect that this man was the shooter from the earlier attack on Storms River Walk.
“It’s alleged that the deceased was the suspect who opened fire on the victims earlier in Storms River Walk,” stated police spokesperson Frederick van Wyk.
The motive for the killings is believed to be gang-related, with long-standing tensions beginning to simmer in the area ahead of what could be a bloody festive season.
Vernon Visagie, chairperson of the Manenberg Community Policing Forum (CPF), voiced concerns that the violent resurgence marks a return to the gang activity that had simmered down over the past months.
Visagie, speaking to Voice of the Cape, shared that just days before the shootings, community leaders met with Western Cape’s Police Oversight and Community Safety MEC Anroux Marais and Portfolio Committee Chair on Police Ian Cameron.
The meeting highlighted the effectiveness of the officers stationed in Manenberg but also brought attention to their limited numbers.
“Manenberg is the most under-resourced station on the Cape Flats,” Visagie said.
“We currently have a staff complement of 147 officers but need about 211 to function optimally. For a gang-infested area, we need more resources to meet the demands on these officers.”
Visagie also expressed disappointment that police were only informed of the shootings when the injured sought help at the hospital, indicating that residents had not reported the incidents directly to law enforcement.
He stressed the need for better communication between the community and local authorities to improve response times and prevention efforts.
