Community in fear after death of alleged gang leader

LENTEGEUR residents say they are living on a knifeedge in anticipation of a retaliation after an alleged gang leader was killed earlier this week.

He and his son were killed on Wednesday as they were celebrating Eid with their relatives.

The suspect in the shooting has since been killed in an alleged mob attack.

Lentegeur Community Policing Forum spokesperson Byron de Villiers said the suspect, after being shot and wounded in the leg, was attacked by the community. “At this stage it is uncertain how the community got hold of him, but while police tried to detain him, he was severely beaten,” said De Villiers.

Police spokesperson Andrè Traut said the suspect was arrested for two murders and two attempted murders on Wednesday at 1.30pm.

“It’s alleged that the suspect opened fire at four people sitting in a garage. Two men aged 43 and 20 were killed, while a 19-year-old woman and an unknown person were shot and wounded.

“The suspect fled on foot and was cornered by (private) security officers who were in the area,” said Traut.

He later died of his injuries in hospital under police guard following his arrest.

A video clip doing the rounds on social media shows him being kicked and assaulted by residents.

De Villiers said the CPF condemned the violence.

“We can’t pinpoint if the (suspect’s death) was a result of the assault that occurred. It’s very unfortunate that it had to happen on Eid, considering that we had quite a quiet Ramadaan month.

Anyone with information can contact police anonymously at Crime Stop on 08600 10111 or SMS Crime Line on 32211.

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