Lotus River community shaken by early morning mass shooting incident
Police are investigating a fatal shooting in Lotus River which left one dead and four others injured.
Image: Leon Knipe
The community of Lotus River was rocked by a deadly mass shooting on Sunday morning in which a 32-year-old man died and four others were wounded.
Five men between the ages of 18 to 42 years sustained gunshot wounds while they were socialising outside a block of flats in Nita Street during the early hours of the morning.
According to an eyewitness, who managed to escape the attack unscathed, the incident took place around 4.30am after a suspicious car drove past their spot.
The man explained: “Four people were shot and one is dead. A car just drove past us and we took note of it, but we did not take it seriously because we were waiting for it to come back - obviously cars driving around that time of the night are suspicious.
“Two guys came back on foot and then they shot through the fence.”
The man explained that he managed to run away when the shots were fired and escaped unharmed.
Police spokesperson Sergeant Wesley Twigg confirmed that a murder and attempted murder cases were registered for investigation.
Twigg reported: “Grassy Park police responded to a complaint of a shooting on October 26 , and upon arrival on the scene they found five males who sustained gunshot wounds to their bodies.
“A 32-year-old male was declared deceased on the scene by medical personnel, while the other victims between the ages of 18 and 42 were transported to a medical facility for treatment.
“The motive for the attack forms part of the police investigation. The suspects fled the scene and are yet to be arrested.”
Meanwhile, additional SAPS deployments, Law Enforcement and Metro Police are in the Grassy Park policing precinct conducting crime prevention initiatives to combat gang-related incidents.
Public Relations Officer for the Grassy Park Community Police Forum, Howard Downes, said that they cannot confirm if the matter is gang-related or not.
Downes explained: “As the CPF we want the community to remain calm and divulge any information that they do receive on the ground to us and to the police so that we can deal with any information that can lead to the positive arrest of the perpetrators.
“The community should work with the police and not attack services when they get there.
“As the CPF, we are going to reach out to the families of the victims and support them any which way we can. People should not be sitting outside having parties [at that] time of the morning.
“Don’t have a party and not know what is going on around you because anything can happen, rather be in a safe and secure environment.”
Police are appealing to anyone with any information about this shooting incident to contact Crime Stop on 08600 10111 or use the mobile application MySAPS anonymously.