City of Cape Town tech closes the net on murder suspects. The duo was cornered at Racecourse and Chukker Road on Sunday, Dec 22, 2024. This all happened just after an hour of the fatal shooting incident in Lavender Hill.
Reportedly, the enforcement services of Cape Town were alerted to the fatal shooting incident on St. Christopher Road in Lavender Hill courtesy of a Shot Spotter alert at 08:53 a.m. on Sunday, Dec 22, 2024.
As per the sources, a 15-year-old teen on a bicycle was shot by a suspect who then fled in a white coloured bakkie. The case was followed by the Metro Police officers who then searched the area and also reviewed the CCTV footage to help and identify the vehicle by tracing the whereabouts of the suspect.
Just after an hour of the shooting at approx. 10:00 a.m. officers spotted the bakkie turning onto Racecourse Road in Lansdowne from the M5. Two suspects of age 25 and 26 were arrested at the corner of Chukker and Racecourse Raods.
Member of the Mayoral Committee for Safety and Security – Alderman JP Smith said that the arrests became possible due to good collaboration between agencies but also drawing on the technology that is available.
Smith added that the gunshot detection alert allowed for a pinpoint response which meant that intelligence was quick and disseminated as the officers could began tracking down the shooters with the help of CCTV cameras. Even before they had a chance to get too far.
“While it is a cold comfort for those who are mourning the loss of a loved one. It is a manner in which the incident was handled at the point to the ever-evolving enforcement approach to clamp down on the violence plaguing so many of the communities,” said Alderman Smith.
Considering another success of the Metro Police happened just an hour later, the officers arrested two suspects aged 21 and 22 in Mowbray under drug dealing charges. The officers were on patrol in the area when a member of the public flagged them down and informed them of drug dealing that is taking place at a house in the area.
The officers requested for the official permission to search the premises and found cocaine, tik and dagga with an estimated street value of R22,000 and more than R3,000 in cash.
Notably, the Metro Police Department made 68 arrests in general enforcement efforts in past week. The arrest included seven drunk and driving case and issued 4,606 traffic and by-law related fines. The officers also arrested 374 for various other transgressions.
Traffic officers also recorded 53,526 offences last week on the roads and impounded 233 public transport vehicles and executed 1,813 warrants of arrest.
They arrested total 53 criminals out of which 41 were handcuffed for driving under the influence of alcohol, f5 for reckless and negligent driving and 7 for various other transgressions.
Alderman Smith noted that the drunk drivers are being persistent in their disregard for the law. He said, “There have been copious warnings against breaking the law and frankly there are more than enough options available to people to party responsibly.”
“So, if you are caught on the wrong side of the law, you will spend at least a part of the festive season behind the bars,” concluded JP Smith.
Furthermore, the Public Emergency Communication Centre recorded 1,807 incidents over a 48-hour period this last weekend. Out of which 680 were medical complaints.
The centre also recorded 94 fire incidents, 45 domestic violence incidents, 137 assault cases, 47 motor vehicle and pedestrian accidents as well as 218 noise complaints.