Members of the Anti-Gang Unit are hunting for the gunmen who shot a nine-month-old baby.
The little girl and her uncle were at a tuck shop in Mitchells Plain when the shooting started.
Three other men were also wounded in the incident on Friday morning along Hartbees and Gazelle streets in Eastridge.
Little Shetara Petersen was shot in the leg and is recovering at the Red Cross Children’s Hospital.
Doctors have told the family the baby is “very lucky” after the bullet ripped through her left leg, but caused no permanent damage.
Shetara had been on her 35-year-old uncle’s arm when heartless gunmen opened fire at 10.20am.
Shetara’s ouma, 60, who asked not to be identified for safety reasons, says her son had gone to buy milk and bread with Shetara.
The ouma says when the shooting started, her son ran home with the baby in his arms, not realising Shetara had been shot.
Shetara was shot in Eastridge, Mitchells Plain
“My son was at the mobile shop purchasing milk and bread and when they started shooting, he began to run,” she explains.
“He ran inside the house and there was blood on his clothing. The baby’s mother thought he was the one who had been shot.”
She says they were shocked when they realised it was Shetara who was bleeding.
“The baby was crying and we thought it was because of the gunshots. We then saw that she was bleeding and that she was shot.
“Three other people, who were sitting on the park, were shot and wounded. We do not know who these people are and who they were after.”
The family rushed with Shetara to the Mitchells Plain Day Hospital from where she was transferred to Red Cross Hospital.
“The mother is at her bedside and the doctors have said she is very lucky because the bullet went right through (her leg),” says the ouma.
“There is no (permanent) damage and the bone isn’t broken.”
She says her family has been left shattered as they’ve also recently lost Shetara’s 60-year-old oupa.
“The baby’s grandfather, who was sick for a few years, passed away last Wednesday. We will be burying him on Saturday. We have been living here for 30 years and we do not feel safe anymore,” the ouma adds.
Police spokesperson, Lieutenant-Colonel André Traut, says cases of attempted murder are being investigated.
“Three adult males and a nine-month-old baby were wounded when suspects opened fire at them. The victims were admitted to hospital and the suspects are yet to be arrested,” he says.