Girl, 6, hit by bullet while playing in Lavender Hill

The girl was injured while she was playing outside, just before 10:00, when unidentified suspects fired on a 24-year-old man. Both victims were transported to hospital for treatment, confirmed Western Cape police spokesperson Sergeant Noloyiso Rwexana.

Steenberg police are investigating cases of attempted murder, she confirmed.

Prior to Saturday’s shooting, there had reportedly been three murders and one attempted murder due to shootings in the area over the last three weeks.

Weekend murders in the province showed a decrease week on week, with last weekend recording 34 murders – down from 47.

Of the 34, 21 were shootings, six were stabbings and seven were caused by other means, according the province’s weekly forensic statistics.

Recently, Police Minister Bheki Cele said more than 1 000 people had been arrested since the deployment of the SANDF.

Of those, 806 were already in the system and were wanted for various crimes, including murder, attempted murder, hijacking and theft. Cele stressed that the deployment of the defence force was merely a temporary solution.

Due to a national moratorium, police only release crime statistics during the annual crime statistics briefing.

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