Elsies River residents want urgent measures to prevent gang violence after learner is fatally shot

At 8am on Tuesday, a group of children stood on Donegal Avenue in Elsies River, Cape Town, were on their way to school, when a car stopped and two masked shooters got out and opened fire.

Grantham van Reenen (14), a Grade 8 learner at Ravensmead High School, was fatally wounded. Two other learners from different schools, aged 15 and 17, were wounded, as was a 55-year-old man.

The mayhem didn’t end there. A chase ensued and men suspected of belonging to opposing gangs rushed into the grounds of St Andrew’s Technical High School and exchanged gunfire between the school buildings.

Van Reenen’s father, Alrich Petrus, told Daily Maverick that after hearing gunshots, he rushed out of the house and discovered his son lying in a pool of blood.

Police investigators at the scene of the shooting. (Photo: Captain Piet Smit, SAPS)

Acting provincial commissioner Major-General Bongani Maqashalala confirmed that the gunmen’s faces were covered.

“The motive of the shooting is a subject of investigation. SAPS have collected a lot of cartridges. The inquiry is ongoing and has been taken up by the Anti-Gang Unit (AGU). We have boosted the deployment in the region, and multidisciplinary forces, law enforcement, metro and SAPS, AGU, Tactical Response Team and Public Order Policing will be in the area to stabilise the situation,” he said.

Other killings

Last Thursday, teenager Gilliano Sass was fatally wounded in a drive-by shooting in Elsies River.

Last month, 16 people were slain in separate mass shootings at Atlantis and Bishop Lavis in the Western Cape.

In Atlantis, five people were killed and another five wounded in a mass shooting. A sixth victim died the following day in hospital and three more people were shot dead days later.

In Bishop Lavis, seven people were killed in a mass shooting.

According to the most recent quarterly crime statistics, of the 270 gang murders reported from 1 April to 30 June, 234 occurred in the Western Cape.

Read more: Minister Mchunu’s grim SA crime stats after WC police shootout call for urgent action on extortion, murder, kidnapping rates

‘Declare provincial State of Emergency’

Imraahn Mukaddam, an Elsies River Community Policing Forum (ERCPF) member, said the shooting on Tuesday was a tragedy that had shocked the entire community.

“We’re left with so many questions. Why were students shot? Were they targeted? People in gang-infested areas on the Cape Flats are tired of seeing bullet-riddled dead bodies in their area.

“Despite knowing it is impossible, we want the authorities to declare a State of Emergency to end the scourge of gang violence, to ensure a safe festive season and prevent a bloody Christmas,” he said.

ERCPF leader Hamish Arries told Daily Maverick that the entire Western Cape was under attack and the turf war between rival gangs for a larger share of the lucrative drug trade could intensify.

“The drug lords’ territories are pricey. They are fighting over turfs and one wants to dominate the other. Leading up to the holiday season, we may expect these types of deaths and turf wars to occur in gang-ravaged parts of the Cape Flats. That is of great concern to all of us,” said Arries.

Community policing forum members in Mitchells Plain, Delft, Hanover Park and Lavender Hill voiced similar sentiments.

Schools in lockdown 

Western Cape Education Department spokesperson Bronagh Hammond said: “Sadly, I can confirm that a Grade 8 learner from Ravensmead High School was shot and killed while travelling to school. Two other individuals were also shot and are being treated for their injuries.”

She said the two gunmen fled into the grounds of St Andrew’s Technical High School while learners were entering through the school gates.

“This caused panic amongst the learners. Some fled the school grounds. The schools in the area immediately went into lockdown mode in terms of safety procedures.

“This has affected examinations at some schools, with timetables being amended to accommodate the change. Note that the NSC [National Senior Certificate] examination has gone ahead at all schools. SAPS was notified immediately and our district counselling support team is at the schools to provide support.”

She said that security measures had been arranged to ensure the protection of learners during their exams.

Integrated firearm crime reduction strategy

David Bruce, an Institute for Security Studies (ISS) research consultant on policing, said the ISS was motivating the SAPS to implement an integrated firearm crime reduction strategy.

“The core of such a strategy must be for police to optimise the use of information and evidence relating to all firearm crime in these areas. The SAPS applies arbitrary criteria to the investigation of firearm crime cases. It must ensure that it utilises the leads that are available for investigating firearm crime in an effective way.

“This information must be used both to identify and prosecute the individuals and groups involved in firearm crime and violence and to strengthen understanding of where the guns that are being used in crime are coming from. The supply of the guns that are used in crime can be stopped,” he said.

Bruce said innovative methods must be used to address the underlying factors that motivate young men to get involved in gangs and commit firearm crimes.

For example, he said, those involved in firearm crimes who have not committed serious crimes such as murder or attempted murder should be placed in diversion programmes that help them break away from gangs. DM