Cape Town – Residents in a Cape Town community are living in fear after a gang war has claimed the life of a young girl.
Four-year-old Scarlett Cottle was laying in bed with a book, in her Ottery home, when gunfire broke out in the streets on Wednesday evening.
She sustained gunshot wounds to her neck and head.
Cottle was rushed to hospital, but later succumbed to her injuries.
Provincial police spokesperson Colonel Andrè Traut said the young girl was shot and wounded, while in their Wendy house, on the corner of Bruce and Edwards streets, in Woodgate Court.
He said the motive for the shooting is possibly gang related.
A 48-year-old man also sustained a gunshot wound during the incident.
Traut said three suspects fled and are being sought.
“It is believed that rival gangs shot at each other and that the girl was caught in the crossfire,” he said.
Sources have confirmed to IOL that an all-out gang war is under way in the Ottery/Lotus River areas.
However, it is not two gangs involved as normally predicted. The gangs involved include the Mongrols, Six Bobs, Dog Pounds, and the No Fear Gang, which is a faction of the Yuru Cats gang.
“This war will not be ending soon. Too much blood has been spilled and everyone is out for revenge. Yet, we, as community members, are stuck in the middle – having to run for our lives whenever these dirty scoundrels open fire.
“This is all about drugs and power. The saddest thing is, every week innocent people, especially our children are being buried,” said a resident, who wished to remain anonymous.
The resident said, with school holidays starting on Friday, children will now have to be kept like prisoners, indoors, for safety.
“But, even if we keep our children inside, they can still die. Look at what happened to poor Scarlett.
“We are scared. We are tired of living in constant fear of these gangs,” the resident added.
On Friday, Western Cape MEC of community safety Albert Fritz called on the SAPS, along with all law enforcement agencies, to do everything to bring the killers to book after he visited Cottle’s home.
He said his department is closely monitoring the flare up of violence in the area and are ready to deploy Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (LEAP) officers to affected areas if need be.
Fritz has also appealed to the community to come forward, should they have information regarding the shooting incident.
“Stand with us in the fight against gangsterism in our communities. Don’t protect these thugs,” he said.
Fritz conveyed his condolences to the family.
“We are never going to accept that the danger, in which our children have to live, is normal. It is not normal. We reject it. And we are going to fight this fight for, and on behalf of, our citizens for as long as we have to. The thugs will not win,” he added.
robin.francke@inl.co.za
IOL