Police are closing in on Melville attacker, says confident Lesufi
Acting Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi briefed the media yesterday on developments in the case of a drive-by shooting in Melville that left two women dead and six others wounded on New Year’s Day.
He said CCTV cameras were not active in the area on the night of the shooting. Despite this, he said police are convinced they are close to solving the case.
He also revealed that investigations have shown that the car used in the shooting was a “cloned car”, with a registration duplicated from another car.
Lesufi said investigations so far have resulted in provisional police reports which appeared to show that the Melville shooting and one which took place at Newtown two hours later, leaving 11 injured, were not linked.
He said one of the 11 injured was shot in the head and was in a critical condition. Three victims have recovered from their injuries and will be discharged today.
The police are keeping the information regarding Newtown close to their chests, Lesufi said.
The acting premier spoke out against what he referred to as a “violent mentality” in South Africa, and said talks with those who witnessed certain violent incidences led him to believe that the majority of such incidences were the result of alcohol abuse.
He noted that drive-by shootings did not usually take place in South Africa.
“What consoles us is the kind of info the police have gathered in a short space of time, this is encouraging,” he said.
He also added: “Police are convinced that they are about to crack this case in terms of the information they have gathered and the relevant people who provided the information.”
The incident has shocked South Africa, and the streets surrounding Poppy’s – the restaurant where the shooting took place – are now lined with flowers. At 7pm on Thursday night, a candlelight vigil for the victims took place.
A man in a BMW SUV travelling from 7th Street opened fire on restaurant patrons seated outside in the early hours of Wednesday. It is believed that a fight had taken place earlier between four male patrons, with one of those involved saying he would be back later.
Lesufi said both the Newtown and Melville shootings had their own specialised police teams investigating the cases.
According to the acting Gauteng premier, victims of the shootings have been cooperating with the police and giving information in the hope of helping the investigations.
Lesufi joined Gauteng MEC’s for community safety Faith Mazibuko and MEC for health Bandile Masuku in paying a visit to victims of the Newtown shooting incident at Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital.