Six people have been shot and killed in two separate attacks on the Cape Flats, including a 13-year-old boy who was executed alongside three others in a suspected gang-related shooting in Delft.
In Wednesday evening’s attack, four people died inside a yard where several families share backyard rooms. Police said two gunmen entered the property on foot and opened fire, striking all four victims in the head.
The father of one of the victims described the horrifying sequence. “I hear this bang bang bang and it’s quiet and then suddenly another couple of bang bang bang shots went off,” he said. “I froze for a few seconds. I don’t know what to do.”
He recalled grabbing two children who were running toward a window. His wife screamed, and he told her to keep quiet, saying, “People want to come back and come here and shoot us.”
When the shooting stopped, he went to look. “I saw my son sitting up with a shot in his head and his friend lying on the floor and the father of the little boy lying on the floor as the little boy also lying on the floor. All dead instantly. They didn’t even like suffer or instantly dead. You just see blood everywhere.”
Police have confirmed the attack is gang-related. The anti-gang unit is investigating.
Residents say the violence follows a pattern of extortion. “They want us to pay them if we want to run a business,” one resident said. “So, I’m renting out and I’m making money. People did come here a couple of times. I didn’t know this since yesterday when the police investigate and ask questions to my son. He said there was a threat that came to him.”
In Elsies River, police are investigating the deaths of a couple whose bodies were discovered inside an informal dwelling. In Bonteheuwel, five people, including children, were wounded in separate shootings and taken to hospital.
The latest incidents come days after the army was deployed under Operation Prosper to support police in the Western Cape. But some residents in Delft say they have yet to see any difference.
“I didn’t see the army and I can’t tell you,” one resident said. “If I tell you, yeah, it was a big help. Can I explain to you what help was it? I can’t.”
For families here, the reality is immediate: dealing with loss while waiting to see whether the increased security presence will reach their streets.