Police are being urged to crack down on crime in Khayelitsha following a shootout near a school and the killing of a teenage boy.
Bullets flew near Iqhayiya High School last Thursday afternoon when gunmen tried to hijack two Somali men in a bakkie carrying merchandise.
The Somalis returned fire, wounding the two assailants, said Khayelitsha police spokeswoman Constable Asanda Daweti.
The shootout happened in full view of residents, she said.
Police arrived on the scene and arrested two suspects on charges of attempted hijacking and the possession of unlicensed firearms.
“A bakkie, which was driven by the Somalis, and a VW Golf, which was driven by these criminals, were both towed to Stikland for investigations,” said Constable Daweti, but she added that police had so far been unable to locate the two Somali men.
In a separate incident, on Saturday November 11, police responding to a report of a shooting in Site C found a 15-year-old boy lying face down in a pool of blood inside a house with gunshot wounds to his head and neck.
Constable Daweti said two armed men had entered the house and fired shots at the teen. The motive for the killing is unknown.
Police found two 9mm cartridge casings next to the body.
Resident Bongani Nyakane said he feared an increase in crime in the area in the run-up to the festive season, and he urged police to take steps to avert that.
The high crime rate in the township made living there difficult, and most residents would leave if they had the means, he said.
Site B Community Police Forum deputy chairwoman Noliyema Swartbooi said she too was worried about a rise in crime during the festive season.
Many of the crimes were committed by people who were known in the community, but residents were reluctant to report them as they feared for their lives, she said.
Furthermore, many residents were no longer prepared to join community anti-crime patrols without being paid some sort of stipend, she said.
