Cape Town - In less than 12 hours after a 29-year-old young mother was shot and killed in Bonteheuwel, the body of an 18-year-old man with gun wounds was discovered in Citrus Street in the same neighbourhood.
The dead teen allegedly belonged to the Playboys gang. It is alleged that he and two friends went to a house in Citrus Street at midnight where they wanted to smoke drugs, when the owner refused to let them in.
Around 3am gunshots were heard and his body was found with gunshot wounds to the front and back of the head, neck and face.
Police spokesperson Joseph Swartbooi said the circumstances surrounding a murder that occurred at a residence were under investigation. Swartbooi confirmed that the motive behind the killing was gang-related.
“Bishop Lavis police are investigating a case of murder. According to reports, gunshots were audible early morning at about 3am. An 18-year-old man was declared dead on the scene by the medical personnel. The unknown suspects fled and are yet to be arrested,” he said.
Community Police Forum (CPF) chairperson Graham Lindhorst said while the two incidents might not be related, this appeared to be retaliation “by the other gang”.
“These are surely rival gangs at each other’s throats fighting for territory. These youngsters are hungry for power and are out of control and are causing havoc in the community with guns in their hands.
“With these two incidents that have occurred, we are now expecting these shootings to spike as the other group might also retaliate,” he said.
Lindhorst said the CPF was meeting with the police to present a safety plan on how they were going to fight not only gang-related shootings, but also smash and grab incidents and other shootings, including last week’s, when two people died in Montana.
Anyone with information can contact Crime Stop anonymously at 08600 10111 or via the MySAPSApp.