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Shots Fired: Gang violence on Cape Town International Airport's doorstep
Cape Town International Airport management confirmed that several shots were fired shortly after 5am this morning (Wednesday, 18 October 2017) on the upper roadway in front of the terminal building. Two people have been injured, with one person hit by a stray bullet who was stabilised before being taken to the hospital.
©instinia via 123RF
Gang violence
Although the motive behind the shooting still needs to be confirmed, it is suspected that it is gang-related and information has already surfaced that links the shooting to other recent gang-related shootings, notably, the shooting at Cubana in Stellenbosch last Saturday.
#AirportShooting Several bullet holes in a glass sliding door. LI pic.twitter.com/bhkeTOpUUT
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) October 18, 2017
It is said that notorious gang boss Jerome Booysen was the target of the attack. According to another EWN report, a second person was injured and, while police are not confirming the identity of the second wounded man, sources say that it was indeed Booysen.
Crime around SA's airports
An increase in gang violence in the area is starting to take its toll on citizens and industries. Numerous comments on social media make it clear that both citizens and travellers do not feel safe. It has escalated to the point where the government is considering deploying its army in the Cape Flats. This latest incident will surely exacerbate the problem.
#AirportShooting
— #TrapaDrive�� (@LeratoLeps) October 18, 2017
We no longer safe in this country, every time you leave de house in d morning u pray so hard to return home safe������
The question remains...
— Sheldon Cameron (@CameronStuntin) October 18, 2017
How did the perpetrators get into the airport with the guns? Security needs to be tightened!!!! #AirportShooting pic.twitter.com/TtrbcUoIf2
#AirportShooting daily life on cape flats. When will @Our_DA step in?
— Nurzaan (@nurzaanallie) October 18, 2017
While Cape Town International Airport has been named the leading airport in Africa, the shooting will indelibly leave a scar in the minds of travellers who are aware of the incident.
Although this is an isolated case in Cape Town, OR Tambo International Airport has also seen a spate of crimes including airport-following crimes - the latest of which saw seven Iraqi diplomats attacked and robbed. This a few weeks after the hijacking of 36 Dutch tourists.
The tourism industry is growing increasingly concerned regarding these attacks. It is of the utmost importance that travellers to South Africa feel safe, particularly as the industry is readying itself for peak season. In an EWN report on the incident, Acsa’s Deon Cloete says “We are going into peak season, everyone is ready and prepared. This is the last type of thing that you require or need.”
