Two killed in latest Mitchells Plain mass shooting

Another mass shooting rocked Mitchells Plain on Friday night, leaving two men dead and one wounded, just hours after the deployment of additional police officers to the precinct in response to a surge in gun violence.

According to Western Cape police spokesperson, Captain FC van Wyk, the attack occurred around 8.10pm at a residence in San Francisco Street, Portlands.

“Mitchells Plain police are investigating two counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder following a shooting incident on Friday night about 8.10pm at a premises in San Francisco Street, Portlands, Mitchells Plain, where two males aged 21 and 22 were shot and fatally wounded, and a 26-year-old shot and injured,” said Van Wyk.

He added that a 21-year-old man escaped the attack unharmed.

“According to reports, SAPS members received a complaint of a shooting at the mentioned address, and on arrival at the scene, they found the bodies of two males with multiple gunshot wounds to the upper body and head. Both victims were declared deceased by medical personnel,” Van Wyk said.

The suspects fled the scene and have not yet been arrested. “The motive for this attack now forms part of the police investigation,” he said.

Friday night’s incident followed a series of shootings on Thursday that left five people dead in Beacon Valley, Tafelsig, and the Town Centre, a shopping complex directly opposite the Mitchells Plain police station.

Western Cape police have since revealed that the motive behind Thursday’s shootings was linked to a domestic dispute within a family that includes high-ranking members of rival gangs.

Speaking during a visit to Mitchells Plain police station, Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant-General Thembisile Patekile said: “It would have been difficult to anticipate that this was going to happen, because it started as a domestic fight between two related leaders from different opposing gangs within the same family. It escalated to the point where we lost many lives, and many more were injured.”

Chairperson of Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Police, Ian Cameron, criticised the lack of an effective gang strategy, particularly in areas such as the Cape Flats.

“After the shooting of more than 10 people in Mitchells Plain on Thursday afternoon, it is once again clear that there is no real strategy to truly combat gang violence in the Cape Flats,” said Cameron.

“Many SAPS members are heroes in their own right for continuing the fight despite little or no strategic leadership from senior provincial and national leadership in this regard. Some station commanders are beacons of hope, being led by the hopeless. Aimless, fighting blind, and often, whether knowingly or not, significantly compromised. This is nothing but the truth.”

Cameron further claimed that the Anti-Gang Unit lacks proper intelligence and operational resources. “The very anti-gang unit meant to fight does not even have its own intelligence capabilities… often without vehicles to operate, stuck at the base and training of sub-standard quality.”

Police have appealed to the public for assistance in tracking down those responsible.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stop on 08600 10111 or use the MySAPS mobile application anonymously.

mandilakhe.tshwete@inl.co.za