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Bekkersdal residents say they live in fear amid the ongoing violence in their community.
Residents of Bekkersdal, west Johannesburg, say they are living in constant fear after nine people were killed in a shooting incident on Sunday morning.
Ten others were wounded in the incident, which happened at a tavern in the Tambo section.
One resident says Bekkersdal is a crime hotspot in which gunshots are heard every night.
“It’s the norm here for such incidents to happen. A few months back, there was another mass shooting. Here, when it’s dark, everyone is in fear. No one is sending a child to the store. The people that are going to the tavern, they’re going knowing very well that they are susceptible to dying. It’s a problem,” says another resident.
Residents have urged police to be more visible in the community.
Sandile Mahlangu says they need visible policing in Bekkersdal, as this is not the first such attack there.
He says the area has become a war zone and residents are no longer safe.
“We are pleading with General Kekana, beyond deploying more number of police, may he please maybe speak with IPID to come and do investigations from his police station in Bekkersdal because the problem is that the police are working with criminals and these criminals do as they please and carry guns. No one is doing anything about it and the leadership around has tried to do whatever they can do but because there are no efforts from the police’s side, there is little progress. We see random raid operations but they don’t have much effect on our safety,” adds Mahlangu.
VIDEO | Community living in fear, accuse the police of not doing their jobs:
Meanwhile, police are searching for a group of about 10 suspects. They have appealed to members of the public who have information to come forward.
Gauteng Acting Deputy Police Commissioner Fred Kekana says they have put together a team of specialists to investigate the incident.
“As we speak now, the serious violent team from the province, with the detectives they are busy working together obtaining statements and our crime intelligence is also on the ground to ensure that all this information, sources and informers are approached to gather more information. On top of that our provincial tracking team is on the ground. They arrived on the scene this morning when the incident happened. The teams are working together,” says Kekana.
VIDEO | Bekkersdal Shooting | Residents says gangs are terrorising the community
