Police say a 4-year-old boy has been shot dead. He was sleeping next to his mother in Wesbank, at the time of the incident. At the same time, a 30-year-old man was wounded.

Police say a 4-year-old boy has been shot dead

Mfuleni Police are now investigating cases of a murder and an attempted murder. The DA’s Nicholas Gotsell says the boy, Davin (4) was killed while asleep next to his pregnant mother on Friday. A 30-year-old was also wounded.

Killed by a stray bullet

Gotsell says this is not the 1st such death in the family. He says Davin’s older sister was killed, in November 2023, after being struck by a stray bullet. There are reports that the little boy, Davin, would have celebrated his 5th birthday yesterday. At the same time, the Police are pleading with the public for information following the death of the then-4-year-old Davin.

You are not safe, while you sleep

Representatives of the DA in the Western Cape have expressed their sadness over the incident. They’ve written to Provincial Police Commissioner Lt. Gen. Thembisile Patekile to ask about the Wesbank community’s petition for a satellite police station in that gang-ridden area. Gotsell says Wesbank, which falls under the jurisdiction of Mfuleni SAPS, has been the centre of a gang war over the past weeks and the community constantly live in fear.

READ MORE: An elderly woman has been killed by a stray bullet in Atlantis

Select Committee for Security and Justice in the Province

Gotsell, a member of the Select Committee for Security and Justice in the Province, says the SAPS Anti-Gang Unit is severely under-resourced. He says there is very little success in the conviction of gun-related crimes. The Committee-Member have raised these and other issues, in the letter addressed to Lt. Gen. Patekile. At the same time, the party has called on the Chairperson of Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Police, Ian Cameron, to visit the community to motivate for more anti-gang resources.

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