11 killings spark heavy police presence in Cape Town community

Police flooded a Cape Town informal settlement on Saturday after 11 people were shot dead.

“We have deployed teams comprising specialist detectives‚ high-risk units and intelligence operatives. We have already executed search operations that are set to continue throughout the day‚” said police spokeswoman Brigadier Novela Potelwa.

The killings took place on Friday night in at least three locations in Marikana‚ east of Cape Town International Airport in Philippi‚ where about 60‚000 people have set up home after land invasions that began in 2013.

Police said that in the first incident‚ four people were shot dead in a shebeen. Three more were shot dead in a shack‚ with one more victim dying outside‚ and two bodies were found lying between nearby shacks. The 11th victim — one of two wounded people taken to hospital — died on Saturday morning.

Said Potelwa: “We appeal to the community to come forward with information that will lead to the arrest of the perpetrators of these shooting incidents. Meanwhile the police are doing their best to arrest those responsible.”

Marikana residents have claimed recently that police have failed to protect them from criminals‚ leaving them with no choice but to take matters into their own hands.