Police have arrested two men within hours of a four-year-old Uitsig girl being shot dead.
Thea Lewis died in her mother’s arms on Wednesday afternoon after a gang bullet hit her in the chest.
The young girl was playing with her two-year-old sister, Hope, on Wednesday afternoon when skollies started shooting.
According to residents, rival gangs are known to shoot at each other across Uitsig Avenue.
Her heartbroken mother, Tammy, 25, says she heard the shot and the girls ran in.
SAD: Tammy Lewis and Pastor Adam
“They both came in and she showed me the bullet went into her chest. I checked, but it did not exit her body. She was performing and I tried to calm her down,” the traumatised mother says.
At the same time, Pastor Adam Alexander was passing by and heard the shooting.
“I went to look and found the mother in the room with the dying child in her arms.
“She had a weak pulse and then her pulse just went away. I was holding her hand and saw her die,” he told the Daily Voice.
The distraught mom says she watched her child fade away.
“It is something terrible. I can’t even describe how I feel now. She was such a friendly child and today her sister woke up looking for her.
“I told her Thea is now with Jesus,” the tearful mother says.
Police spokesperson, Lieutenant-Colonel André Traut, says following the little girl’s murder, officers and detectives embarked on an overnight tracing operation and arrested two suspects, both aged 21, at 4.30am on Friday.
“The suspects will appear in court soon. Meanwhile, additional forces have been deployed in areas, including in Ravensmead, to quell incidents of violence,” he said.
But Pastor Alexander says this is not enough.
WAR ZONE: Bullet hole evidence of ongoing gang violence on the Cape Flats
The angry community worker says he had a panic attack after watching the girl die and is now pleading with political leaders to bring in the army.
He says authorities had planned to bring in soldiers to assist with the Day Zero action plan but says no attempt has been made to bring the army in to tackle gang violence.
“I want to tell the government that people in the Western Cape are already living in Day Zero due to the crime,” he says.
“I am asking that they call in the army and police and Law Enforcement. This is one child too many. The gangsters are running around with guns as if it is nothing. We need intervention.”