Lentegeur CPF calls for SANDF deployment amid escalating gun violence
Police are investigating cases of murder and attempted murder after two people were shot in Lentegeur, Mitchells Plain.
Image: Leon Knipe
A community in Mitchell's Plain is calling for drastic state intervention as gang-related gun violence continues to wreak havoc on the Cape Flats.
The Lentegeur Community Policing Forum (CPF) has now joined the Mitchell's Plain CPF in demanding a commission of inquiry into gang violence and the deployment of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to stabilise affected areas.
The renewed calls follow a deadly shooting on Wednesday night in Linaria Road, Lentegeur, in which a 42-year-old man was killed and a woman wounded.
Michael Jacobs, chairperson of the Lentegeur CPF, said the situation has spiraled beyond what conventional policing can manage.
“This ongoing violence and deadly shootings within the Lentegeur precinct… we want to once again reiterate the call that normal policing cannot continue under these current circumstances.”
Jacobs said police resources remain stretched too thinly to deal with the persistent gang warfare gripping the area.
Police are investigating cases of murder and attempted murder after a two people were shot in Lentegeur, Mitchells Plain.
Image: Leon Knipe
“We reiterated our call for the President to institute a commission of inquiry into gang violence on the Cape Flats. Under these abnormal circumstances, not only in Lentegeur but in most areas on the Cape Flats, we are plagued with gang violence and deadly shootings. We call for the immediate deployment of the SANDF to act as a stabiliser.”
He stressed that the time for bureaucratic meetings and discussions has passed and warned that action, not promises, is now required.
“We are way past having meetings or conferences for taking resolutions,” he said.
“It is time for the South African Police Services management on provincial and national level, together with the MEC of Community Safety and the national police minister and the deputies, to come to Lentegeur and other communities affected by gun violence.
“It should not only be a talk shop. We want a commitment that resources will be deployed to the affected communities and that there will be change.”
Police spokesperson, Wesley Twigg, said detectives are investigating the circumstances surrounding the fatal shooting.
“Lentegeur police are investigating the circumstances which led to a shooting incident in Linaria Road, Lentegeur, on Wednesday evening,” Twigg said.
“According to reports, the victim was driving in his vehicle when he came under attack.
"The 42-year-old male sustained gunshot wounds to his body and was declared deceased on the scene by medical personnel, while the female victim sustained a gunshot wound to her leg and was taken to a medical facility for medical treatment.”
Twigg added that the motive for the attack is still unknown, and the suspects remain at large and that cases of murder and attempted murder have been opened for investigation.
The latest fatality comes just a day after the Mitchell's Plain CPF called for a similar commission of inquiry following the brazen murder of two teenagers in Tafelsig.
That shooting, also linked to gang activity, saw the victims ambushed in the street by gunmen in a Toyota Etios.
Anyone with information on the Linaria Road shooting is urged to contact Crime Stop on 08600 10111 or use the MySAPS mobile app anonymously.
Cape Argus