Ocean View residents gathered in shock and grief following a mass shooting that left six men dead, as load shedding complicates the investigation. Image: acebook/Councillor Patricia Franke.
Ocean View shooting: Load shedding blamed for disabled CCTV cameras, hampering police investigation
The DA called for urgent action against violent crime, citing police under-resourcing and the additional challenge of load shedding.
Ocean View residents gathered in shock and grief following a mass shooting that left six men dead, as load shedding complicates the investigation. Image: acebook/Councillor Patricia Franke.
The township of Ocean View in Cape Town was rocked by a mass shooting on Wednesday morning, 12 April, that left six men dead. The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Western Cape condemned the incident and said load shedding disabled CCTV cameras in the area at the time of the incident.
READ: Ocean View: Six men killed in gang-related Cape Town mass shooting
DA calls for urgent action to combat gang violence in Western Cape
As previously reported, a vehicle arrived at a house on Neptune Lane, Ocean View, at approximately 10:50.
Unknown gunmen entered the property and opened fire on the occupants. Five men – aged between 20 and 50 – were shot dead at the scene. A sixth victim was declared dead upon arrival at a hospital.
Brigadier Novela Potelwa said the motive for the shooting is suspected to be gang-related. Six counts of murder are under investigation by the provincial Anti-Gang Unit. No arrests have been made thus far.
“This shocking incident is utterly heartbreaking, and leaves an entire community searching for answers. While there is nothing that can be said to comfort the families of those who have lost their lives, we must recommit ourselves to bringing down instances of crime,” said DA Western Cape spokesperson for Community Safety, Gillion Bosman.
Load shedding adds to the challenge of policing in under-resourced Ocean View
Bosman said the DA, which governs the Western Cape, has confirmed that CCTV cameras in the area were disabled at the time of the shooting due to “ongoing blackouts.” The investigation is thus severely hampered, according to the political party.
Bosman added that the Ocean View SAPS is one of the Western Cape’s most “drastically under-resourced” police stations. The police station reportedly has 61 visible policing units and 12 detectives despite serving nearly 50 000 people.
“The problem of under-resourcing in the Western Cape is well-known to SAPS management, who described the number of officers in the Western Cape as ‘way below par’ while briefing the Western Cape Provincial Parliament’s Standing Committee on Community Safety last month,” said Bosman.
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