Latest news with #VanessaAdriaanse
IOL News
2 days ago
- IOL News
Heideveld community rallies against gun violence after tragic shooting of a witness
A 30-year-old woman was gunned down in Heideveld on Saturday morning — just a kilometre from Phoenix Secondary School in Manenberg, where police and community leaders were launching an initiative to 'silence the guns.' Image: Mandilakhe Tshwete 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. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ '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
The Herald
3 days ago
- The Herald
Drive-by shooting mars #SilencingTheGuns pledge
Acting chairperson of the Manenberg community policing forum Vanessa Adriaanse said the murder appeared to be gang-related. The victim was a witness in a criminal case. 'It is disheartening to think that we are attending an event in Manenberg about silencing the guns on Women's Day, and they have just shot and killed a female,' said Adriaanse. 'How abnormal can our communities still become? We are now standing over the body of a young female aged 30 who was just shot and killed. Our hearts are bleeding. As women. What must we do?' Adriaanse believes the motive for the killing was to silence the woman: 'She was a witness in a case and that might be why she has been killed.' Adriaanse left the crime scene to sign the pledge at Phoenix High School with other stakeholders. 'As leaders in policing, government and civil society, and as representatives of the communities most affected by gun violence, we acknowledge the devastating effect of illegal firearms on the lives of our residents — especially women, children and the vulnerable,' the pledge reads. 'We recognise that firearm-related violence has stolen lives, shattered families and undermined public safety and trust. We also acknowledge that effective change requires collective will, co-ordinated action and the active involvement of all sectors of society.' TimesLIVE
