Gunfire erupted outside the Mitchell’s Plain Magistrate’s Court on Monday, leaving one man dead and another wounded.
The court was placed on lockdown, but proceedings inside continued.
Mitchell’s Plain police chief, Brigadier Brian Muller, said the two men, believed to be members of the Fancy Boys gang, had earlier appeared in court on a double murder case that was provisionally withdrawn.
While waiting outside for a friend, they were attacked.
A suspect, reportedly from the town centre side, opened fire. Four suspects were involved, one fired the shots while the other three fled, Brigadier Muller said.
A man, 24, died on the scene, while a man, 27, was shot in the back.
A police officer stationed in front of the court saw the incident and fired at the suspect, but the shooter escaped, he said.
Brigadier Muller urged the community to come forward with information. The case is being investigated by the Anti-Gang Unit, and information can be reported directly to him.
Linda Jones, a court watch member of the Mitchell’s Plain United Residents’ Association (MURA), said she was at court when the station was placed on immediate lockdown after the incident.
She said that because the station was under lockdown, she could not leave, adding: "It is believed one person may be down."
Abie Isaacs, chairperson of the Cape Flats Safety Forum, described the incident as “very concerning” given the escalation of crime across the Cape Flats.
“We call for a special probe to be set up to deal with gun violence and, secondly, for the South African Defence Force (SANDF) to be deployed as a force multiplier to assist law enforcement agencies in stabilising the current situation. The Cape Flats is under siege, and the president needs to make a clear decision to deploy the SANDF,” he said.
Mr Isaacs also noted that on Saturday, August 30, it will be a year since a memorandum of agreement was signed between the three spheres of government.
“Yet we haven’t seen any change since. Crime has escalated out of control,” he said.
Michael Jacobs, chairperson of MURA, said the community is facing a resurgence of deadly shootings that has reached “crisis point.”
“Over the weekend, three people lost their lives in separate incidents in The Farm (Montrose Park) and Harmony Village in the Lentegeur precinct, and this morning’s brazen shooting in front of Mitchell’s Plain SAPS clearly shows that these gangsters have no respect for human life or our community," he said.
“We call on president Cyril Ramaphosa to visit our bullet-ridden communities on the Cape Flats, where blood flows like a river down our streets, and to ensure that urgent interventions are implemented to stop this genocide on the Cape Flats,” he said.
Video footage circulating on social media shows two men lying on the ground outside the police station. The footage has also been sent to the Plainsman.
Residents can contact SAPS Crime Stop on 08600 10111 to report crime.
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