The army was called into Manenberg after widespread shootings resulted in one person being killed and seven others, including an 11-year-old girl, being injured and hospitalised in a bloody gang fight on Saturday.
Cop sources say four women, a child and three men were shot in broad daylight during the fight between the Jesters and Americans gang as skollies opened fire on each other.
Residents who rushed to assist the women seen lying in the road say heartless skollies continued to fire on the community in Red River Street even after seeing innocent people were shot.
The family of Arancia Swartz, 11, says the Grade 4 pupil from Red River Street was left with a bullet lodged in her lung and rushed to Red Cross Children’s Hospital for emergency surgery.
Arancia Swartz, 11, was shot by gang scum. Picture supplied
Mom Natasha, 30, says she was at work when relatives called her to say her daughter had been shot.
“She walked to the shop with her aunty, Veronique Hartogh, 29, just after 3pm here in the avenue and that is when the shooting started,” the traumatised mother says.
“From what I was told she went to the shop for the neighbour.
“I got a big shock. When I got there, they said the bullet went into her right lung and damaged her rib cage.
“They did surgery to remove it.
“Her aunty was shot in her leg, bum and back and is in a critical condition at Groote Schuur Hospital. Arancia is stable now, but we are still very worried.”
Police say a 45-year-old gang member was killed in the shooting.
“There were two innocent men, four women and the child that were shot. All of them survived, but the gangster died while the others were taken to hospital after being shot multiple times,” the source says.
Call for SANDF to patrol the streets of Manenberg. Picture: Leon Knipe
Police spokesperson, Captain FC van Wyk, confirms the incident and says the shooting started at 3.15pm.
“A 45-year-old man was shot and fatally wounded and seven other people, aged between 11 and 45, shot and injured are under investigation.
“A murder and attempted murder cases were registered for investigation. It is alleged that this shoo-
ting is gang-related between two local gangs.”
Anyone with any information surrounding the incident is asked to call Detective Sergeant Ayanda Duysha on
021 699 9400.