Two men have been arrested for the murder of four-year-old Scarlett Cottle while police are on the trail of a third suspect.
The toddler was shot and killed while lying on her bed in Ottery on September 29.
Meanwhile, mom Monique says a skollie has approached her to apologise for the shooting, saying he did not know the little girl was in the Wendy house.
SAPS’ Etienne van Ede says a 24-year-old suspect was arrested by the Western Cape Anti-Gang Unit on Monday while another arrest was made yesterday morning.
“A 31-year-old male was arrested on Tuesday morning by the Ottery sector commander following a tip-off from the public,” he says.
“Upon arrest, the suspect was identified as a member of the Six-Bobs gang while the 24-year-old was taken to Wynberg SAPS and is due to appear in court (today).
“The shooting that led to Scarlett’s death was gang-related between the Six-Bobs and Mongrels along with members of the Yuru Cats, while it is not known what gang the 24-year-old is affiliated with.”
Van Ede added police have identified a third suspect and his arrest is imminent.
When the Daily Voice visited Scarlett’s mother Monique on Tuesday, she was unaware of the second arrest and was still visibly shaken by her daughter’s death.
Monique said: “The police called me about the first arrest and I went to make a statement but last night, they (skelms) broke into our house and took our phones so police could not tell me about the other arrest.
“The other day, while walking in the area, a guy came to me and asked if I was the mother of the child that got shot.
“When I said yes, he said he was also shooting on that day but he did not know Scarlett was in the house and that he was sorry.
“He hugged me to say sorry but I was so full of emotion that I could not even say anything to him.
“It sounded like the guy he was trying to shoot was standing on the corner, where the bullets came into the house.”
Monique and her partner, Lindsay, say living in the area is traumatic to them: “We live here...it is getting harder being around people that took her life.”
“We are not sure who broke into the house last night or why they did it but we just want this whole thing (gang war) to end.”