According to local politician and anti-drug crusader Dereleen James, Eldorado Park is quickly following in the footsteps of the notorious Cape Flats.
James was remarking on the Sunday shooting of two young men as they sat in their car and relaxed. One victim, a 23-year-old guy, perished to gunshot wounds, while his friend was able to evade his mysterious attackers.
“I am without words and numbed. Eldorado Park’s condition dissatisfies and distresses me greatly. James stated, “It pains me to say that my community has adopted the identity of the Cape Flats.”
Cape Flats, a huge, low-lying, impoverished territory southeast of Cape Town, is recognized as one of the most violent regions in South Africa. It is notorious for endless turf and drug fights as well as extortion.
Eldorado Park’s Gangs to Grace leader, Kester Fisher, strongly condemned the shooting.
“I am deeply distressed by the community’s ongoing and senseless loss of life. “Unfortunately, I am not surprised, as there are still numerous flaws in the local police system,” Fisher added.
Residents described how deadly and dismal the situation has become, showing the inadequacy of law enforcement to combat the ongoing gun crime.
“As a teen residing in Eldorado Park, I am terrified to walk around. I live in continual fear, not just for my own life but also for those of my family and friends. Andrea Buhr, a local youth, remarked, “You just never know who will be next in line to be killed.”
“Gun violence has become the norm in our neighborhood. When someone is fatally shot, we express our sorrow and move on with our lives until the next incident. Our security is at risk.”
Witnesses of the shooting on Sunday reported that the perpetrators left in a silver-gray microbus. The cops continue to look for them.
Saturday, authorities discovered the lifeless body of a 24-year-old woman with gunshot wounds in a different incident. Not far from the deceased were recovered three spent rounds and one live round of ammunition.
According to police spokesperson Sergeant Roxanne Gibbs, the woman was murdered in a crossfire, and the shooter has been positively identified.
“It is alleged that the identified suspect had a confrontation with a male at the intersection of Silwer and Cumming roads in Eldorado Park. “The suspect allegedly intended to shoot the male, but instead shot the 24-year-old female bystander victim,” said Gibbs.
According to Gibbs, the suspect left after realizing he had shot the incorrect person, and a murder investigation has been initiated.
Vice-secretary-general of the Patriotic Youth Alliance in the region, Devenay Rayners, has vowed war on drug lords.
“We are devastated and traumatized; the reality is setting in.” People very close to us are being murdered, and we are well aware that this is due to drug use. “We are aware that older men are involved [in this war],” stated Rayners.
“The kids have had enough, and we want to break free from this system; the police and drug lords in our town will not rule us. The war has begun, but we will not perish at the hands of gun-wielding thugs; rather, we shall die heroic deaths.”
»Eldorado Park is quickly becoming a replica of the infamous Cape Flats«