A fresh wave of gun violence in the Western Cape has left 13 people dead over the weekend.
Image: File
The Western Cape has been rocked by a fresh wave of deadly gun violence after 13 people were killed in shooting incidents in Khayelitsha and Stellenbosch over the weekend.
Police have launched multiple murder investigations and intensified operations in the affected communities as detectives work to determine whether some of the attacks are linked.
In Khayamandi, Stellenbosch, seven people were killed across five separate shooting incidents from Friday evening to Saturday morning.
According to police, the first incident took place in Mgabadeli, where a 46-year-old man was shot shortly after returning home from work. It is alleged that three armed suspects opened fire before fleeing the scene.
Hours later, at around 9pm, two men aged 27 and 32 were shot and killed in Thubelisha by unidentified gunmen.
In another attack in Fire Street, police discovered the bodies of a 27-year-old man and a 26-year-old woman inside a shack. Both had sustained fatal gunshot wounds.
Police officers on patrol were later flagged down in Luyolo Street, where they found the body of a 33-year-old man lying between shacks with multiple gunshot wounds.
The violence continued into the early hours of Saturday morning when officers responded to reports of another shooting in 7th Avenue. There, they found the body of a 37-year-old man who had also been shot dead.
Western Cape police spokespersons said the motive for the shootings remains under investigation, while detectives attached to the Serious and Violent Crimes Unit are probing whether the incidents are connected.
“No arrests have been made at this stage,” SAPS said.
In a separate series of shootings in Khayelitsha, six more men were killed within hours of each other in Makhaza and Harare.
The first incident unfolded in Khonkxa Street, Makhaza, on Sunday evening at approximately 7.30pm. Police said family members heard gunshots coming from an informal dwelling and later discovered the bodies of three men aged between 20 and 24.
Just hours later, at around 1.38am on Monday morning, three men in their thirties were shot at a shebeen in Endlovini, Harare. The victims were transported to a medical facility but later succumbed to their injuries.
The gunmen in both incidents fled and remain at large.
SAPS management in the province said specialised detectives from the Serious and Violent Crimes Unit had been deployed to pursue all available leads.
“Every available resource will be utilised to trace and apprehend those responsible,” police said.
Authorities have also increased deployments and patrols in the affected areas.
Police have appealed to anyone with information to contact Crime Stop on 08600 10111 or submit tip-offs anonymously via the MySAPSApp.
For more stories from The Mercury, click the link THE MERCURY