Philippi residents are reeling from the murder of a 17-year-old who was shot several times with a rifle and killed, reportedly for filming an extortion incident in progress.
The suspects saw him and gave chase on Sunday at around 7pm in Siyahlala informal settlement in Browns Farm, Philippi.
He then ran into a house where he was shot.
A leaked report read: “The victim was busy recording suspects, busy extorting a spaza shop. The suspects saw him making a video and started chasing him. He ran to a shack where he stayed and was followed. The boy then ran into his home and closed the door. One suspect fired two shots at the door and kicked the door open.”
The document stated that the suspect demanded his cellphone, which had the evidence.
“He demanded the cellphone. Another male came rushing in and asked where the boy was. The suspect was armed with a rifle, he fired four shots in the lounge and the kitchen areas.
“He managed to shoot the boy, wounding him in the arm and upper body.”
The document said the suspects grabbed a cellphone and then fled the scene.
“They took the wrong phone and left the cellphone of the boy. The boy was taken to Mitchells Plain hospital.
“Eight rifle cartridges, one 9mm cartridge and one 9mm round were found on the scene. The cellphone of the victim was taken from the scene and handed in at Nyanga police station.”
The teenager died at the hospital and the police opened a murder charge.
Police spokesperson Malcolm Pojie confirmed that the youngster was fatally wounded.
“The circumstances surrounding the shooting incident are still being investigated by Nyanga SAPS detectives. It is alleged that the deceased was chased and shot by two unknown suspects, armed with firearms.
“As a result, Nyanga police opened a murder docket for further investigation. No arrests have been made yet.
Nyanga Community policing forum secretary Dumisani Qwebe said they were shocked by the senseless killing of the teen.
“The incident is very traumatising, the way that he was killed by the thugs was very brutal.
“We are asking the police to make sure that they arrest the shooters. We refuse to be ruled by such people. We also plead with the police to bring back the extortion unit, because this is getting out of hand.
“When they were operating, there were not many shootings linked to this. We would like to extend our sincerest condolences to the family who lost the child as the result of this.”
In an attempt to curb extortion, Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has launched a citywide anti-extortion campaign in Khayelitsha under the slogan “Enough is Enough! Genoeg is Genoeg! Kwanele!”
The launch took place at an extortion-impacted project to construct new MyCiTi depots in Khayelitsha.
The City set up a 24-hour hotline (0800 00 6992) and rewards system to encourage residents to help the City and the authorities tackle extortion, with billboards set to be rolled out on major routes showing how to report. Reporting can be anonymous.
Police also have the Anti-Economic Crime Task Team and Anti-Extortion Task Team and have been arresting suspects linked to the collection of “protection fees”.
He appealed to anyone with information to on extortion to contact Crime Stop at 08600 10111.