As swiftly as armed, rival gangsters appeared at the bottom of a Bethelsdorp street on Saturday night and started shooting, so too came the death of a 12year-old girl who was tragically caught in the crossfire while standing among a crowd of people at a nearby shop.
An eerie sense of tension filled the streets of Bethelsdorp on Sunday morning as the mother of Alvineesha Brookes recalled telling the youngest of her two daughters – who was closely related to ANC MPL Christian Martin – that she loved her, moments before she died.
But the fury over the grade 7 pupil’s death later led to an outraged vigilante attack by a mob who fatally assaulted a young man and critically wounded a youth they found at a suspected gang member’s home.
Swift action by the police resulted in the arrest of five suspects on Sunday afternoon – one for the murder of Alvineesha and four for the vigilante violence.
Anger was still palpable on Sunday as a group of young men gathered near the victim’s home, with fears of more violent reprisals to come and police warning people not to take the law into their own hands.
Alvineesha died after being shot in the head at about 8.30pm in the crossfire between rival gangs, the Carlitos and the Hondekoppe, in Buys Street.
She stumbled about 20m from where the shooting took place before collapsing in the road.
Her mother, Sonia Brookes, 47, said on Sunday she had felt “empty” as she knelt over her daughter who lay face down in the street as blood streamed from the wound in her head, urging her to show some sign of life.
According to residents, as Brookes wept alongside her daughter’s lifeless body, a group of about 40 enraged community members rallied together before marching to a suspected gang member’s house in Bardien Street – about 200m away – seeking revenge.
However, when the suspected gang member was not home, the community unleashed their anger on two other males in the house and vandalised the property.
Tavern Moss, 25, and a 16year-old youth were dragged into the street where they were beaten, stabbed and stoned.
Moss died as a result of the assault while the youth was rushed to hospital in critical condition.
And while police were present, residents said they were powerless to resist the intent of the mob who continued with their violent actions, petrol-bombing and stoning another house in Bardien Street – also suspected to be the home of a gangster.
Brookes said while she did not encourage the vigilante attacks, she understood why the people were frustrated.
“People are tired of the violence, they are tired of being bullied by children with guns.
“And as a result of my daughter’s death, I am sure more violence will follow this week . . . it’s not what we want, but it is the reality of it,” Brookes said.
“It was inevitable at some stage that the community would revolt because of this gang violence.
“It is just so hard to come to terms with it being as a result of my daughter dying, who was innocently on her way home from a friend.”
As she continued to explain the tragedy, a group of about 20 people standing two houses away watched curiously as more family members and police arrived at Brookes’s house on Sunday. A group of young men – some accompanied by leashed dogs – passed beers among themselves as they smoked and shouted in the direction of Brookes’s house: “Ons is nie kla nie” (we are not done).
Moments later, several of the men – some with firearms – ran down Buys Street in the direction of Bardien Street, whistling and shouting as they ran.
Simultaneously, residents could be seen lining the lawns of houses in anticipation of a possible shooting while fearful mothers ran into the street calling for their children to return home.
At this point some of the men could be seen running between houses in Bardien Street while police officers began arriving on the scene, armed with firearms and kitted out in bulletproof vests.
Speaking to shortly after the Sunday morning incident, two men claiming to be gangsters but who declined to provide their names, said Alvineesha’s death had triggered a deadly chain of events which they expected to play out throughout this week. “It won’t be left like this. “They can’t just come kill a little girl and think they will get away with it without any consequence . . . We need to take one of them out,” one of the men said as he stood bare chested in the street.
“And we won’t shoot them, we are going to beat them to death.
“They need to feel the pain that we are feeling because of her death.
“It won’t stop now – this week more people in this area will die because of what happened here.”
Among those who offered their condolences to the family on Sunday was Martin, who has actively protested against gang-related violence but said his presence was in a personal capacity on this occasion. “I was on my way to Somerset East when I received the call about what had happened and returned.
“When there are these instances I try to always visit the family and when I got to this house I saw my cousin who told me it was my niece who was shot,” Martin said.
“This incident will spark more revenge attacks, not only from gangsters but the community who are just so tired of feeling helpless.
“While the police are doing all they can, they need to make their presence felt in a more authoritative manner where gangsters are fearful of the consequences of their actions.”
Police spokesperson Colonel Priscilla Naidu said at about 3.15pm on Sunday, members of the Provincial Organised Crime Investigation Unit (gang investigations) arrested a 21-year-old suspect affiliated to the NTB gang in Bardien Street for the alleged murder of Alvineesha.
Four other suspects aged 18, 21, 22 and 49 were arrested in Buys Street for the alleged murder of Moss, the attempted murder of the teenager and three cases of malicious damage to property.
She had earlier condemned the violent actions of the community and called for residents to rather work with police instead of taking the law into their own hands.
“Police would like to warn the community that there is no justification whatsoever in acts of vigilantism . . .
“Such behaviour is unjustifiable and one cannot resolve crime through committing crime,” she said...