Western Cape police have established a task team following a robbery and killing spree in which seven people were massacred in less than 24 hours.
Police spokeswoman Noloyiso Rwexana said five people were shot dead during a series of house robberies in Samora Machel on Monday.
Sources at one scene in Samora Machel reveal the killers had asked a woman and her husband for money before opening fire.
INVESTIGATION: Five people were killed in Samora Machel. Photo: Leon Knipe/African News Agency/ANA
The bloodbath started on Sunday at about 9.45pm at a tavern in Site B, Khayelitsha, where nine gunmen stormed inside and opened fire, killing a 28-year-old woman and wounding 13 others.
Hours later at about 3.40am, a gunman opened fire in Harare, Nyanga, killing a 25-year-old man and injuring four others.
In Samora Machel on Monday, police were investigating three different crime scenes where five people were shot and killed and one was wounded.
VIDEO: Genevieve Serra
At the shack where Bongiswa Bulala was killed and her husband wounded, a blood trail led from the front door to the bedroom where her body was found on the floor.
A tub full of bath water and half-full glasses of Coke were signs that the couple was disturbed.
Cops at the scene said the gunman had knocked on the door, demanding money.
Bongiswa’s sister, Eunice Bulala, rushed to the scene and was devastated after she was informed by reporters that her sister, who has a 10-year-old child, had been killed.
SHOCKED: Victim’s sister Eunice Bulala. Photo: Leon Knipe/African News Agency/ANA
“Is she OK? What happened? They called us to the house, she is my sister,” Eunice said before being informed of Bongiswa’s fate.
She said all she knew was that her brother-in-law had been rushed to hospital.
It is not clear if the child was at the house.
At a scene where four other people were murdered, shocked community members stood silent, watching as cops searched two shacks.
According to a police source, on Sunday at 11pm, two Malawian males were shot and killed.
REPORT: Noloyiso Rwexana. Photo: Leon Knipe/African News Agency/ANA
And Monday at 4.40am, just 30 metres away, two men, one a Nigerian national, were killed.
Rwexana says cops believe the motive behind some of these murders is robbery, but did not confirm if all five attacks were linked.
RANSACKED: Skelms stormed home and demanded money. Photo: Leon Knipe/African News Agency/ANA
“Robbery as a motive is not ruled out as personal belongings were robbed from the victims in some of the incidents,” she says.
An appeal was made to anyone who might have information about the shootings to contact Colonel Joseph Komani on 064 752 1423.