Eastern Cape police open SVCU probe into four shooting deaths in Walmer
A provincial investigation team and a dedicated appeal line are now in place after four men aged between 20 and 30 were found with gunshot wounds in Gqeberha, and police say no arrests have been made.
eNCA reports that four bodies have been found in Gqeberha, in the Eastern Cape, and that a provincial investigation team has been set up to work the case. The original report is here:
Police spokesperson Colonel Siphokazi Mawisa said the four were male, aged between 20 and 30, and that all four had gunshot wounds. They were found at G-West in Walmer.
No arrest has been made. The circumstances of the deaths form part of the investigation now under way.
What the police have set up
The inquiry is being run through the Provincial Serious and Violent Crimes Unit, and a team has been established for it. That unit is the provincial structure that carries the more serious violent cases, which is where a multiple killing of this kind sits.
Mawisa said officers went door to door in the surrounding streets looking for possible witnesses and came back with nothing. She said police are appealing to anyone who saw anything suspicious, or who has information that could help, to come forward.
Information can go to the team leader at the Provincial Serious and Violent Crimes Unit, Lieutenant Colonel Monde Sithole, on 082 457 2812. It can also go to the nearest police station, or to SAPS Crime Stop. ## What a case like this asks of the public
The appeal is the practical part of the story. A shooting in a residential area is solved most often by somebody who was there, or who saw a vehicle, or who heard something at an hour that did not fit, and who then decides to say so. The number above is a direct line to the officer running the case, which is a shorter route than a general tip-off line.
For residents of Walmer and the streets around G-West, the immediate effect is a heavier police presence while the team works the area, and a request that they treat what they saw as evidence rather than as neighbourhood talk. Four men between the ages of 20 and 30 are dead, and the people who can explain why have not yet been found.
The investigation continues, and the appeal for witnesses stands. Anyone with information can reach Lieutenant Colonel Monde Sithole on 082 457 2812, the nearest police station, or SAPS Crime Stop.
