Two injured in weekend gang shootings

Two people were injured in separate gang-related shootings over the weekend.

Since February 2, six people were killed in gang-related killings and seven injured.

The first incident happened at 8:45pm on Friday when three men shot a 22-year-old man in the back.

Police spokesperson Colonel Priscilla Naidu said that the man, who is not being named for safety reasons, is currently in hospital.

“The 22-year-old was walking down Beck Street in Bloemendal when he noticed three males not far from him. One of them pulled out a firearm and fired shots at him. As the victim ran away, he was struck several times in his back. Suspects ran away,” she said.

Naidu added that the victim is affiliated to the Hondekoppe Gang and the suspects are from the Nice Time boys gang.

In the latest incident at 6pm on Saturday, a man was shot multiple times.

“A 32-year-old man was sitting outside a spaza shop with a friend in Bramlin-Markman Road, in Gelvandale, when three men approached, pulled out firearms and started shooting. The victim was struck twice in his abdomen while the other male was not injured,” she said.

“It is alleged that the three gunmen are from a gang known as the Boeta Boys.” Both men are still in hospital.

Naidu said that the motive for the shootings were unknown. “We are still investigating if the two shootings are linked but at this stage there is nothing to suggest that they are,” she said.

Due to both cases being gang-related, the Provincial Organised Crime Investigation Unit, known as the Gang Unit, has taken over the cases.