Woman caught in crossfire during Lavender Hill shooting

Another senseless shooting has rocked the community of Lavender Hill, where a woman believed to be in her late 50s was shot in the neck and shoulder in Ashley Court in broad daylight.

Police spokesperson, FC van Wyk, said Steenberg police are aware of the incident that took place on Thursday, however, no criminal cases have been registered for further investigation.

The area has been under siege for the past week with an alleged fight between the Mongrels and Fast Guns.

A video of the incident on Thursday shows a man with a gun running through a block of flats shooting continuously at one of the residences.

He runs up the steps and shoots directly at a residence door, all while people in the flats can be heard shouting.

Community activist Dorothy Soetwater said they need help to stop the cycle of violence.

“They are shooting every day. Our children’s nerves are finished because they are not even safe going to school the way they are shooting here, it is bad.

"The atmosphere is very tense because we don’t know when they are going to shoot or not because it seems like they relax a bit or when law enforcement drives then they are quiet but after that they continue.

"The issue is that when one of these gangsters die, then they want blood, and that causes these ongoing shootings.

"They [gangsters] are always on guard so when they are outside and then someone from the rival gang see them then the shooting starts."

Soetwater said the community is in need of consistent police or law enforcement patrol.

She adds: "We have asked for visibility when the children are going to school to safeguard them but they do not do that.

"When it gets heated with the shooting, as soon as there is a moment when they are not shooting then the mothers run to get their children early from school but even that is not safe because you cannot trust.”

Cape Argus