Three shot dead, several wounded in night of violence in Delft

Two suspects have been arrested after three people were killed and several others injured in separate shooting incidents in Delft, Cape Town, on Wednesday night.

Western Cape police confirmed three people were killed in three incidents, while two others were injured.

However, Pastor Charles George of the Delft Community Policing Forum said nine people were shot.

At approximately 19.30pm, members of the Delft police attended to a complaint of a murder on Ngongo Street, Leiden, police spokesperson Captain FC van Wyk said.

“Upon their arrival, they found the body of a 20-year-old man with multiple gunshot wounds,” added Van Wyk.

No arrests have been made.

“At the same time on Commodore Street, The Hague, in a separate incident, officers found an unknown male lying in the street with multiple gunshot wounds to the body. Another victim was shot on the left hand and another was shot in the stomach. They were taken to a nearby medical facility for treatment.”

A 17-year-old suspect was arrested and will appear in the Bellville Magistrate’s Court soon.

In a separate incident on the same night, police officers in Delft were called out to a shooting incident on Cedar Street, Eindhoven.

There, the police found “the deceased with a single gunshot wound to his head lying next to a house”, said Van Wyk.

“While officers were busy with patrols in Eindhoven, they heard gunshots in the vicinity and immediately drove in that direction. They saw the suspect running and followed him. When he saw the police he dropped the firearm.

“Four cartridges and a .38 Special round of ammunition were found with the firearm.”

A 28-year-old suspect was arrested for the possession of an unlicenced firearm and ammunition.

Cases of murder, attempted murder and the possession of an unlicenced firearm have been opened. The detectives assigned to the cases are probing whether the incidents are linked.

Speaking to News24, George said nine people were shot and two of the victims were killed in what he said were gang-related shootings and the other was a robbery.

The robbery victim was a foreign national, he added. “This all happened in 75 minutes.”

Delft was one of 10 areas chosen for a joint operation involving the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) and police earlier in July.

Asked if there were any members of the SANDF present on the night, George responded by saying “this was in the presence of the army in the community”.

“They can only be at one place at a time,” he said, adding one shooting had occurred in Eindhoven while the army was stationed near Shoprite and the police station.

Gang violence in Delft has been a problem for years.

In August 2016, 31 people were killed in that month alone, mostly having been forced to join gangs, the Cape Times reported.

Last year, TimesLive reported Delft was in the top 10 worst crime areas in Cape Town.

“For this month, there have been 27 murders in Delft, including the three of last night,” said George. “Criminal activities are being massaged, the truth is out there.”

He questioned where the “political will” was to deal with crime.

Due to a moratorium on crime statistics, the police cannot confirm broader, periodic statistics outside of the annual release of the crime statistics.

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