CAPE TOWN - As crime experts are still scouring the scene where five people, including a woman, were shot dead in the Endlovini informal settlement in Khayelitsha, police have initiated the 72-hour activation plan in search of yet-to-be-identified gunmen.
Residents of this area alongside Baden Powell, opposite Monwabisi Beach, woke up to the grim discovery of the five bodies – four men in one shack and a woman in another shack. The woman is believed to be a partner of one of the men.
“Reports at the disposal of police indicate that unknown gunmen approached shacks located at the Monwabisi Park informal settlement in Endlovini, Khayelitsha, in the early hours of this morning and fired shots. A woman and four men were as a result killed,” said police spokesperson Novela Potelwa.
The deceased, who are yet to be identified, are estimated between the ages of 25 and 35.
Anyone with information that could assist the investigation is urged to contact the police on 08600 10111.
The murders come as communities, especially Manenberg on the Cape Flats, have been leaving in fear due to a spike in gang violence.
Following a bloody week in Manenberg, which claimed the lives of at least eight people, police reinforcements have been sent into the area to quell suspected gang violence.
Deputy Police Minister Cassel Mathale will host a Ministerial outreach program in Manenberg and Gugulethu in Tambo Village on Monday at Phoenix Secondary School.
Mathale, together with the management of the South African Police Service, as well as the Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Land reform and Rural Development Mcebisi Skwatsha, will engage the communities of Manenberg and Gugulethu to address their crime concerns around substance abuse and gangsterism.
The Ministerial outreach program also seeks to provide residents with a platform to discuss and engage the SAPS on other identified crimes plaguing the community and at the same time promote and improve relations between police and the community at large.
The event is expected to start at 5pm.
Cape Times