Two women have died and three women and a 12-year-old boy have been wounded during several weeks of shootings that have gripped Hanover Park in fear.
Elizabeth Stevens, 75, and Carol Solomons, 60, each took fatal gunshot wounds to the chest in a shooting at a Lansport Road house on Tuesday July 4, at 8.25pm, said Philippi police spokesman Captain Lance Goliath.
Three other women, aged 32, 35 and 50, were wounded.
“Two counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder were opened for investigation. Suspects fled in the grey VW Polo. No arrest has been made,” he said.
On Wednesday July 5, at 3.30pm, a 12-year-old boy was shot in the buttocks on the corner of Augulus Court and Lansry Walk. Police arrested a 43-year-old man.
Captain Goliath said the motives for the shootings were still being investigated and he could not confirm whether they were gang-related.
Hanover Park Community Police Forum chairwoman Kaashiefa Mohammed said the area was a war zone, and fearful residents were fed-up that crime held them prisoner in their homes, their children unable to play outside during the school holidays.
The shootings had started a year ago and had worsened over time, but police patrols had not been stepped up to counter them, she said.
“The gangs are fighting against each other all over Hanover Park, especially at night during load shedding, but also during the day.”
The CPF and the neighbourhood watch were working together to try to find a solution, she said.
“The police say that they won’t do peace talks so basically the community must come with a plan themselves.
“About 100 shots go off in 20 minutes, and residents have to deal with robberies in the morning, shops broken into regularly. Residents are so fed-up of this, of living in fear, getting shot in their own homes.
“We need a wake-up call, we need to unite and combat this crime. We are losing our youth. We need to find a way out of this. We need a plan. We can’t just march and expect peace to happen; people need to stand together to stop this crime and these killings.”
Ashraf Gamieldien, the chairman of the Concerned Citizens of Hanover Park Forum, along with some 150 residents, religious leaders, members of non-profit organisations and the CPF, marched, last Wednesday, to the Lansport Road house where the two elderly women were killed to show their sympathy and take a stand against the shootings.
He said that even as they had marched, they had heard the crack of gunfire.
“We need to come up with a plan. The area is so tense. People are scared because they are shooting on a daily basis.
“This is about the infighting in gangs, about who will be the next leader, and the community is bearing the brunt of all of this.
“We would’ve liked more people to march with us. The community is just fed up with all this shooting. It needs to stop. There has been no police presence in the area. They just come to collect bodies. It’s like death is their work now. There are no preventative measures.”
Mr Gamieldien said people were being robbed at the terminus in the morning on their way to work and in the evening when they returned home.
“So we would therefore like two police vans to be stationed at the terminus in the morning, but nothing’s happening. We need to put measures in place. Everything we tried to stop this shooting hasn’t worked because we don’t get the support of the police. We have been left on our own.”
Captain Goliath said both SAPS and the City’s Metro Police had increased visibility in hot spots.
“We regularly conduct searches and have identified drug dens and crime generators. We regularly have searches in those areas and houses. Our integrated operations are also based on information that we get from communities. Our station commander has an open-door policy so if there are residents who have concerns, they are welcome to come to the station. We thank the residents who are continually working with us,” he said
Anyone with information about the shootings can contact Crime Stop at 08600 10111.