News24 | UPDATE | ‘Let them take each other out’ – 3 killed in drive-by linked to 28s gang

Three people were killed in a suspected gang-related shooting in Mitchells Plain, Cape Town, on Wednesday night.

Three men shot dead in a drive-by shooting in Westridge, Mitchells Plain were known members of the 28s gang and have “long been on the police’s radar”, said police.

Station commander Brigadier Brian Muller, said two of the victims were found with illegal guns in their possession.

Shots rang out on Wednesday night at 20:20. The three, aged 20, 23 and 32, were hit and succumbed to their wounds.

Police spokesperson Brigadier Novela Potelwa said the gunmen are yet to be identified.

Muller, who had been at the scene, said the “very same men that were shot were the ones we were looking for a very long time”.

The triple murder comes a week after Police Minister Firoz Cachalia visited Mitchells Plain and admitted that there was no plan in place to get gang violence in the area under control.

He conceded that a stabilisation plan must be implemented.

At the time of his visit, News24 reported 15 people had been killed in gang-related violence in just one week. The youngest was a 14-year-old boy.

Cape Flats Safety Forum spokesperson Lynn Phillips maintained that Mitchells Plain is “under siege” by gangsters.

“It cannot be normal for residents to live with the constant unwelcome noise of gunshots,“ Phillips said.

READ | Two questioned after violence in Cape Town suburb claims 3 more lives

“We don’t care if these gangs kill each other - that’s fine, let them take each other out. But what we do care about is when they are killing innocent people.”

Mitchells Plain Community Police Forum chairperson Norman Jantjies said this age-old scourge remained a serious problem.

“We already know there is no plan to get this gang violence under control - we heard that straight from the police minister’s mouth recently. So what happens now? Gangs continue to plague the community with their violence. We seriously need this stabilisation plan the minister spoke about. And we need it urgently if police are serious about this.”