Mass shootings claim four lives despite advances in police operations

Two separate mass shootings claimed four lives and left eight others wounded in Cape Town over the weekend.

Western Cape police spokesperson Andrè Traut said detectives attached to the Provincial Serious and Violent Crimes Unit were pursuing a number of leads after four men, aged between 27 and 35, were shot and killed in Browns Farm, Philippi, on Sunday.

“At around 6.20pm unknown gunmen opened fire at the victims at their residence in Mazizini in Browns Farm, Nyanga, killing three on the scene, and wounding five. The injured victims were admitted to hospital where one died,” said Traut.

There were reports that some of the deceased were part of a syndicate called “ama Uber” as they allegedly hijack e-hailing service drivers.

This comes as police spokesperson Wesley Twigg confirmed that Kleinvlei police were investigating four counts of attempted murder following a shooting incident, also on Sunday, in Pinetree Way, Rosedale, Eerste River.

“Kleinvlei police attended the crime scene where they found the victims with gunshot wounds to their bodies. The victims were taken to a medical facility for treatment. The unknown suspects fled the scene and are yet to be arrested.

The motive for the attack is yet to be determined,” he said.

In the Nyanga policing precinct, the Browns Farm incident was the second mass shooting in recent days. About nine days ago four people were killed in a shack in the Lloyd informal settlement on Govan Mbeki Road.

A fifth person was admitted to hospital with a gunshot wound. No arrests have yet been made.

Police Oversight and Community Safety MEC Reagen Allen said the third-quarter crime statistics, October to December 2023, showed 15 instances of mass killings. “Our data has already shown that most murders occur between Saturday evening and the early hours of Monday morning.

“These are related to various causes, which include interpersonal violence, drug and alcohol abuse, gang violence and extortions. I have written to the provincial commissioner for urgent feedback into how SAPS is intervening in the area,” said Allen.

Meanwhile, Western Cape police commissioner Thembisile Patekile said Operation Shanela has made huge strides in the fight against crime in the province, especially organised crime.

High-flyers gang members have been the target of police crime-fighting efforts in the Western Cape, resulting in several arrests, he said.

Alleged gang kingpin Nafiz Modack and his co-accused are facing more than 100 charges including murder, attempted murder, money laundering, racketeering and charges under the Prevention of Organised Crime Act.

The group is also accused of orchestrating the assassination of Anti-Gang Unit detective Charl Kinnear.

Alleged underworld kingpins Mark Lifman and Jerome “Donkie” Booysen are also on trial for allegedly conspiring or paying for the assassination of slain “Steroid King” Brian Wainstein.

Meanwhile, alleged 28s gang boss Ralph Stanfield was arrested alongside his wife Nicole Johnson, Johannes “Bal” Abrahams, Denver Booysen and Jose Brand on various charges linked to the attempted murder of a former employee after he allegedly stole over R1 million from them.

Patekile said: “We’ve looked at the crime generators and who generates crime. The weapon of choice is firearms.

Gangs... thrive on drugs and firearms. We also had to focus on the taxi industry which is also generating many of our murders, as well as the big extortion industry. The partnerships with all other stakeholders, and other law enforcement agencies, assist(ed us in achieving this goal.

“As we took these high-flyers, hence you see more gang violence erupting.

There’s a fight for turf and leadership positions within these gang groupings. We may not have achieved everything but many have been taken down.”

Cape Times