Teen the latest victim of Westbury violence

Fear lingers in Westbury, south of Johannesburg, as members of the community try to grapple with a weekend of gang-related shootings that have left two people dead and 11 others injured.

The shootings, some just minutes apart, took place from Friday to Monday morning in six different incidents in Extension 3, an area rife with gang fights.

In the latest incident on Monday, an 18-year-old boy was gunned down at his friend’s home while trying to escape two assailants along Phillip Dane Street after 10am.

Witnesses say the teen had been standing outside the house when two armed men gave chase and started shooting at him.

“I told him to get into the yard because I saw the two guys with guns. I ran into our house,” said a woman who asked not to be named for fear of victimisation.

“He was shot in the leg, he then fell. I ran into the other rooms in the house and I heard more gunshots after that. After the shooting settled I went out and found that he had been shot in the leg, twice in the back and once in the chest.”

This was the fourth shooting to be reported on the same street, with the same house being shot at three times. In three videos captured by a neighbours’ CCTV cameras, which Sowetan has seen, the shooters move in pairs and shoot inside residents’ yards or at groups of people along the street.

Police believe the shootings are gang-related as two rival gangs face off after the killing of two people believed to have been gang leaders some weeks ago.

The Varados and the Fast Guns are the two gangs fighting over drug territory. The gang territories are said to be separated by Kretzchmar Street, with the east side belonging to the Varados and the west to the Fast Guns, but some areas have a combination of gang members as neighbours.

According to residents, by virtue of being seen associating with either side you are then deemed an enemy by the other.

On Saturday, along Oleander Place Street, Shahabudeen Ali ,42, was shot four times outside his neighbour's house, leaving him with injuries to the spine and legs.

Just minutes after that, residents heard gunshots along the same street. Here Cresando Otto,32, belonging to the Fast Guns gang, was killed. All this just a few meters next to Moana’s daycare centre, which looks after children as young as three.

Otto’s mother confirmed that her son was part of the Fast Guns but had not been involved in any violent activities.

Sophiatown police station commander Brig Bonginkosi Ndebele said one person had been arrested in connection with Friday’s shooting and police were still searching for more suspects.

He said gang-related killings had been plaguing the area, with police having made a few arrests of gang members.

“These killings were there before the gang leader was killed but we are arresting [suspects]. Some of the people are out on bail, they come back and do the same thing. Even those who are arrested, what they do is they recruit others while they are inside.

“In most cases where these crimes are seen, it is where they sell drugs. But we are disrupting them, we are there patrolling. Immediately when the police leave, they come and shoot.”

sibiyan@sowetan.co.za