Heideveld community rallies against gun violence after tragic shooting of a witness

THE 30-year-old woman shot and killed in a drive-by attack in Heideveld at the weekend was a key witness in a gang-related case. 

“That might be the reason she was shot and killed,” said Manenberg Community Police Forum deputy chairperson Vanessa Adriaanse

The shooting on 5th Street at about 11:15am, close to Phoenix Secondary School happened a kilometre away from the venue for the Western Cape police board’s anti-gun campaign launch.

The #SilencingTheGun campaign is aimed at raising awareness about  the devastating impact of illegal firearms.

Adriaanse said the shooting took place while community members, mostly women, were gathered for the campaign launch in honour of Women’s Day.

“This is devastating, to think that we were launching the silencing the guns campaign where we mostly invited females because it’s Women’s Day. We wanted to acknowledge the women on the Cape Flats. We received a call while at the event that they had just shot and killed a female,” she said.

She said they rushed to the scene.

“How abnormal can our community become that we are standing over the body of the 30-year-old woman. Our hearts are bleeding. What is happening to women? What must we do?”

Western Cape police spokesperson Malcolm Pojie said the circumstances and motive of the shooting form part of the investigation

“Manenberg SAPS registered a murder case for investigation after a 30-year-old woman was shot and fatally wounded during a drive-by shooting this morning, Saturday, 9 August 2025, at about 11:15am in 5th Street, Heideveld. The suspects are yet to be identified and apprehended.”

Police have appealed to anyone with information to contact Crime Stop on 08600 10111 or use the MySAPS mobile application.

Western Cape Deputy provincial police commissioner Luyanda Damoyi described the circulation of illegal firearms in the areas as ‘tremendous’. 

“Many of the firearms currently in circulation were once legally owned, but after certain incidents involving the owners, such as robberies at their homes, they became illegal. Some have been lost by security forces or stolen from security companies, and others from the South African Police Service.

“What we are doing now is taking measures to address this. We are regularly inspecting firearm licences held by owners. One area of concern is deceased estates. For example, if someone owned three firearms and then died, their family might not report this to the police. We have identified 1,502 firearms linked to deceased owners, and we are visiting those addresses. We have already recovered a number of weapons in different provinces.”

Cape Times