CPF calls for an end to the bloodshed

Camey Adams was in tears watching her 22-year-old son’s body from a distance as he lay just off the pavement in Riley Street on Sunday.

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He was a working young man and had come from a neighbour's house when he was shot, she said.

“Today, you do not need to be a gangster to die. They shoot anyone,” said Ms Adams.

Civic bodies Save Mitchell’s Plain and Malachi Foundation, supported by various community and faith-based organisations, political parties and residents, led the motorcade in support of the grieving families and communities.

The motorcade was in Portland, en route Beacon Valley, when news came in of the shooting.

Ms Adams said the prayers of the community offer hope to community that is desperate for help.

“The prayers give us hope. It is only God that can change this around. Everything people do to end these killings will help,” she said.

Sunday’s shooting in Beacon Valley comes just one day after the Mitchell’s Plain, Lentegeur, and Strandfontein community police forums convened an emergency meeting to develop an immediate and comprehensive response to the recent surge in gang-related shootings.

Mitchell’s Plain CPF chairperson Norman Jantjes urged the government, law enforcement, and civil society to act decisively before more lives are lost.

“We refuse to accept gang violence as a norm in our community. The bloodshed must end, and those responsible must face justice,” Mr Jantjes said.