Commissioner of the South African Police Service (SAPS), General Fannie Masemola addressed the country on the recent pattern of crime, notably, gun violence and mass shootings.
Masemola highlighted that since May 2023, police have arrested over 900,000 individuals through Operation Shanela, which focuses on combating crime in high-density areas.
“The ongoing mass shootings in provinces like the Eastern Cape, Kwazulu Natal, Gauteng and the Western Cape are a concern and requires us as the police to ramp up our efforts to put a stop to these shootings that are often perpetuated with illegal, unlicensed and high calibre firearms,” he said.
He continued by saying that police are continuously improving their methods for fighting crime as a result of these recent instances and that it is encouraging that most, if not all, mass shootings have resulted in arrests.
“For example, in the Eastern Cape, another mass murder claimed the lives of five family members last week, but within days since the commission of the crime, two suspects were arrested and the weapon believed to be used in the commission of the crime was seized,” said Masemola.
In a shoot-out, police killed a suspect who was allegedly connected to the mass shooting in New Brighton, Gqeberha.
Based on information from Eastern Cape police spokesperson Warrant Officer Majola Nkohli, authorities got information about a suspect allegedly connected to the incident on Wednesday, October 23.
“The suspect was found inside a house on Tsewu Street ... He sustained gunshot wounds in the upper body, and was declared dead at the scene,” Nkohli said.
On October 25, the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) spokesperson on police, Ian Cameron called for police reform following the mass shootings. He expressed his outrage at the deaths.
“These incidents are an indictment of our failing crime intelligence systems, and the SAPS’ response of merely deploying additional forces will not suffice,” Cameron said. “It is not sustainable, nor does it address the root of the crisis. Until SAPS crime intelligence functions at full capacity, we will continue to see this tragic loss of life on our streets.”
However, Masemola stated that the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu Natal province, and continuous gang-related shootings in the Western Cape are mostly responsible for mass shooting occurrences.
“Our operational focus therefore remains on the tracing of wanted known criminals and the detection and removal of illegal firearms from our streets.
“In all these areas, we have beefed up and reinforced deployments and also deployed specialised teams inclusive of intelligence and organised crime detectives,” he added.
IOL