Two teenagers were gunned down in an informal settlement on the outskirts of Humansdorp on Sunday morning.
Geraldine Bambi, 14, and Keano Visagie, 18, were killed and three others rushed to hospital after being shot multiple times.
The incident unfolded at about 1am when the group approached the Fynbos and Flamingo Street intersection in Gill Marcus, a settlement outside town.
According to police, the five were walking home from a tavern.
Several gang-related murders and shootings have occurred in the same area since 2018, when police confirmed that gang-related activity had been noted in the town.
It is unknown at this stage if the latest incident was gang related, but police said it could not be ruled out.
Police spokesperson Captain Gerda Swart said a white VW Citi Golf had stopped in the street and an unknown number of men got out and started shooting at the other group.
“They ran in separate directions to escape. Two teenagers were shot multiple times and died on the scene while the other three, aged between 20 and 29 years, were also shot multiple times and are currently hospitalised.”
Swart said the men then got into the waiting Golf and sped off.
“The incident was reported to police but the suspects had already disappeared on our arrival.
“At this stage the motive is unknown and nothing was stolen.”
All three wounded were in a serious condition and transferred to a hospital in Port Elizabeth for treatment.
Swart said that if an element of gangsterism was involved and found to be the motive, the case would be taken over by the anti-gang unit.
The fatal killing comes only a year after police warned about Port Elizabeth gangs moving out of the Bay into smaller towns such as Jefferys Bay, Patensie and Humansdorp.
In November, four Humansdorp Senior Secondary School pupils were stabbed in what appeared to be a gang turf war involving school children, some as young as 14 years, in the area.
The incident was believed to have been triggered by simmering tension between the half-dozen gangs operating in the area.
According to police, the stabbing was provoked by the return of 30 suspected gang members to school after their suspension earlier in 2019.
This comes after the anti-gang unit recovered a loaded revolver hidden behind a drain pipe at a house in Didtloft Street, Bloemendal, on Saturday afternoon.
No arrests have been made in either of the cases.
Anyone with information on the Humansdorp shooting is urged to contact Detective Warrant Officer Corne Smit on 082-441-7613.
Two killed and three wounded in Humansdorp shooting
Image: File
Two teenagers were gunned down in an informal settlement on the outskirts of Humansdorp on Sunday morning.
Geraldine Bambi, 14, and Keano Visagie, 18, were killed and three others rushed to hospital after being shot multiple times.
The incident unfolded at about 1am when the group approached the Fynbos and Flamingo Street intersection in Gill Marcus, a settlement outside town.
According to police, the five were walking home from a tavern.
Several gang-related murders and shootings have occurred in the same area since 2018, when police confirmed that gang-related activity had been noted in the town.
It is unknown at this stage if the latest incident was gang related, but police said it could not be ruled out.
Police spokesperson Captain Gerda Swart said a white VW Citi Golf had stopped in the street and an unknown number of men got out and started shooting at the other group.
“They ran in separate directions to escape. Two teenagers were shot multiple times and died on the scene while the other three, aged between 20 and 29 years, were also shot multiple times and are currently hospitalised.”
Swart said the men then got into the waiting Golf and sped off.
“The incident was reported to police but the suspects had already disappeared on our arrival.
“At this stage the motive is unknown and nothing was stolen.”
All three wounded were in a serious condition and transferred to a hospital in Port Elizabeth for treatment.
Swart said that if an element of gangsterism was involved and found to be the motive, the case would be taken over by the anti-gang unit.
The fatal killing comes only a year after police warned about Port Elizabeth gangs moving out of the Bay into smaller towns such as Jefferys Bay, Patensie and Humansdorp.
In November, four Humansdorp Senior Secondary School pupils were stabbed in what appeared to be a gang turf war involving school children, some as young as 14 years, in the area.
The incident was believed to have been triggered by simmering tension between the half-dozen gangs operating in the area.
According to police, the stabbing was provoked by the return of 30 suspected gang members to school after their suspension earlier in 2019.
This comes after the anti-gang unit recovered a loaded revolver hidden behind a drain pipe at a house in Didtloft Street, Bloemendal, on Saturday afternoon.
No arrests have been made in either of the cases.
Anyone with information on the Humansdorp shooting is urged to contact Detective Warrant Officer Corne Smit on 082-441-7613.
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