Cape Town - After an alleged gang leader was killed in a shooting incident in Bonteheuwel over the weekend, community members were concerned that the shooting would reignite gang violence in the area and said there was still a desperate need for their own police station in Bonteheuwel.
Bonteheuwel ward councillor Angus McKenzie said law enforcement agencies responded to a shooting incident in the area on Saturday that left an alleged Dixie Boys gang leader, 38, dead.
McKenzie said this targeted shooting was likely to reignite gang violence in the area through the rivalry between the Hard Livings and Dixi Boys.
“The threat of retaliation shooting is extremely high at this point in time and residents are requested to be extremely vigilant and cautious,” said McKenzie.
Police spokesperson Novela Potelwa said a case of murder was opened and was currently under investigation.
“Preliminary indications suggest that the shooting is gang-related and police investigators are pursuing several leads. Police in the Western Cape continue to monitor several crime hotspots including the area where the shooting incident occurred in an effort to ensure safety in the various communities,” said Potelwa.
McKenzie said this incident reaffirmed the community’s need for their own police station, which he has been urging for years.
He said although they were able to reduce the incidents of gang-related crimes, establishing the Bonteheuwel police station was vital to address the gang problem in the area – especially when taking into consideration that Bonteheuwel has a population of 85 000 people.
Bonteheuwel resident Tasneem said: “There is a must for a police station in Bonteheuwel because going to Bishop Lavis is far for some people to travel and when we phone them, we hardly get through. They are not enough to accommodate the communities of both Bishop Lavis, Bonteheuwel and the surrounding areas.”
Another Bonteheuwel resident, who asked to remain anonymous, said their community has been given empty promises of getting a police station for a number of years already and the need for it was only increasing as the years went by, especially as they often struggled to get a hold of Bishop Lavis police station.