Two killed, nine houses set alight as gang war rages in Worcester

FOR 10 straight days Worcester has been terrorised by gang violence, which reached a peak on Monday when two people were murdered and nine houses were set alight.

The DA’s Mireille Wenger said the criminal justice system was failing gang-affected communities by being unable to arrest and convict perpetrators. The party had called on the minister of police and his predecessor to re-establish specialised units for gangs and drugs, she said.

“I have also called for the better use of the asset forfeiture unit to fight gang-related crime. We have also run public hearings and drafted a comprehensive report on the underresourced police and detectives in the Western Cape and have called the minister of police and national commissioner to brief us on how the SAPS will become better equipped.”

MEC for Community Safety Dan Plato said his department would assist the police wherever it could, but it was up to them to make arrests.

Plato added that when he visited the area he noticed police did not have a relationship with community members who did not share information with them.

Police spokesperson FC van Wyk said the area remained volatile even though police managed to defuse the situation. “The violence can be attributed to ongoing tension between rival gangs. Monday night there were reports of two murders and four attempted murders in different locations of Avian Park.”

In a protest response to the murders, residents took to the streets and burnt tyres, hindering the flow of traffic.

By Friday, a witness who chose to remain anonymous reported that violence had erupted again and this continued sporadically until it escalated on Monday.

The R43 was closed to traffic on Monday due to shooting in the vicinity of Avian Park. As many as 200 shots were fired, the witness said.

Van Wyk requested that anyone with any information related to the shootings contact Crimestop on 08600 10111.