A Cape Flats community says it’s living in fear of school children and teen gangsters who are
terrorising them daily.
A video where the school laaities and young skollies are seen running down the street with moerse machetes, knives and bricks, doing the rounds on social media has now sparked investigations by police and the Western Cape
Education Department.
In the 46-second clip, two groups of boys pelt each other with bricks and stones and then one group chases the other with machetes and knives.
While a huge group of excited children, dressed in school uniform, run after them, terrified women with children hide in people’s yards.
The video also shows men standing to one side as the mob run riot down the street, with the person recording standing behind a fence.
The incident took place in Eland Street, Leiden, in Delft, on Monday and residents say it’s a gang fight between the JCYs and the Barbarians.
Residents, who refused to be named, says the gang fights are a daily occurrence, with skollies targeting boys from Gateway Primary and Leiden Primary schools for “recruitment”.
“When the school ends, we have to go behind our gates because that is when it starts,” says one mother.
FEAR: Skollie schoolkids causing havoc in Delft
“They run with bricks, machetes and knives and some are school children and they are the JCYs and the Barbarians. The police is doing nothing about this.”
The Western Cape Education Department says despite the video evidence, principals at the two schools have denied their pupils’ involvement.
Jessica Shelver of the WCED says: “I have been informed by the principal of Gateway PS that the learners from his school are not involved. The learners report to him that they are targeted by gangsters daily when they travel to and from school.”
The palie at Leiden Primary said they would monitor the situation.
Police spokesperson, Lieutenant-Colonel André Traut, says: “The video was brought under the attention of the Delft Station Management on 15 August 2017 by a concerned parent.
“The schools in question were visited by the schools safety officer from the Delft SAPS and it can be confirmed that no serious injuries or damage to property were reported.
“The Delft SAPS will increase visibility in and around schools, especially during opening and closing times. Parents whose children were robbed during this incident are requested to open cases at the Delft police station.”