With the help of CCTV footage, police were able to arrest two men believed to be involved in the murder of a 15-year-old Lavender Hill boy just over an hour after the incident occurred.
Steenberg police were alerted at 8.53am on Sunday December 22, to the fatal shooting which took place on the corner of St Christopher and St Alexander roads in Lavender Hill. The alert had come via the ShotSpotter system.
The teen, who had been on a bicycle, had been shot by a man who fled in a white bakkie. The motive for this attack is still to be determined, said police spokesman Warrant Officer, Joseph Swartbooi.
Police searched the area, and also reviewed CCTV footage to help identify the vehicle and track the suspects’ whereabouts.
At 10am, just over an hour after the shooting, officers spotted the bakkie turning from the M5, onto Racecourse Road in Lansdowne.
Two men, aged 25 and 26, were arrested at the corner of Chukker and Racecourse roads and were charged for the murder on Monday December 23. They are expected to appear in the Wynberg Magistrates Court.
“The arrests came about due to good collaboration between agencies, but also drawing on the technology available to us. The gunshot detection alert allowed for a pinpoint response, which meant intelligence was gathered quickly and disseminated, and the officers could start tracking down the shooters with the help of CCTV, before they had a chance to get too far,” said mayoral committee member for safety and security, JP Smith.
In another case just an hour later, Metro Police officers arrested two men, aged 21 and 22, in Mowbray on drug dealing charges.
A member of the public flagged them down, and informed the officers of drug dealing taking place at a house in the area.
They requested 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.
Contact Crime Stop on 08600 10111 to report a crime.