Four children injured in crossfire as man is shot dead in Cape Town

A man was shot dead and four children were injured in a suspected gang-related shooting at the weekend in Ravensmead, Cape Town.

A joint statement by provincial authorities said the dead man was  25-year-old Ferdie Samuels.

"The deceased was standing outside when occupants of a car with an unknown registration number stopped in front of him and opened fire. The children ran outside and were caught in the crossfire. The suspect fled the scene," the statement read.

Community safety MEC Alan Winde described the incident as tragic.  

"Today our hearts and minds are with the entire Ravensmead community and especially with the four young children who were wounded in this heinous crime. We stand with the community of Ravensmead who have suffered a tragic attack at the hands of a callous, faceless perpetrator.

"We cannot allow gangsterism to hold our society hostage and this criminal must be caught. We will track this case to ensure SAPS does all that it can to bring justice for Ravensmead," he said.

"Children have become afraid to play outside.

"While we do not have the mandate over SAPS, and call on the national government to bolster its role in protecting our people, we can and have embarked on a campaign to abolish illegal guns by offering a substantial reward for positive information."

Police say gang violence is the highest contributor to murders in Ravensmead, Mitchells Plain, Bishop Lavis, Philippi, Delft and Kraaifontein.

"Provincial police commissioner Khombinkosi Jula stated the primary motives for murder for the 2017/18 period were 22% gang-related, 13.2% argument-related, 8.1% robbery-related, 5.1% due to domestic violence and 1.2% taxi violence-related," the department of community said.