The suburb of Kelvin showed that there is strength in numbers when fighting a common enemy

The mass shooting incident that took place in Kelvin on 3 March had residents take to the streets and get in on the action. No less than 19 suspects were arrested after police foiled an armed robbery and truck-hijacking.

Ten illegal firearms and four stolen vehicles in the robbery and a truck carrying a consignment of cell phones with an estimated value of R60 million was set to be hijacked.

The Kelvin Resident’s Association (KRA) gave their account of the incident and a viewpoint from some of the residents.

Newly appointed board member Harsha Pillay said that a number of residents were directly impacted by the shooting incident. With Kelvin’s active community and structures put in place to always ‘know thy neighbour’ saw residents opening up their hearts and their home to the reaction teams.

Sandton CPF member Natalie Ferreira said that she was elated to see the community come together in such trying times.

“Our lovely suburb Kelvin was under attack from all angles – we had to move quickly to protect our residents as best we could! It was really scary but we jumped into action and did what we could to assist SAPS and the numerous security teams – by 1pm suspects were still being apprehended.”

She added that through teamwork, various areas within Kelvin were contained with many residents only returning home after 9pm.

“It was a very emotional, terrifying and sad day as our beloved friend and colleague paid the ultimate price on Wednesday – he loved Kelvin and we loved him! Always going the extra mile for Kelvin residents no matter what the issue was. He always had a smile while doing it. RIP Jackson from Zss security – our thoughts and prayers are with his family.”

The camaraderie within the community went far and wide. Ferreira added that once the scene was under control, residents opened their homes to volunteers and SAPS members all while adhering to Covid-19 regulations.

Pillay added, “This sense of community was further illustrated on Saturday when a lady and her daughter had an attempted hijacking. A resident was quick to respond and apprehend the would-be hijackers while his wife posted the message on the Telegram groups which yet again had the Sandton CPF members responding rapidly.”

She said that while there are police to enforce the law, there is also value in the active citizenry. Pillay reiterated that it is important for people to be more involved with their local CPFs and the police.

Ferreira concluded, “It was absolutely fantastic to see our CIA ( community in action) doing its thing. Thanks to each and every resident. We stood united and stronger we shall become.”