National Police Commissioner says mass shootings not linked to organised crime
National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola’s address comes on the back of several shootings across the country, including tavern shootings in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal. The commissioner was joined by Police Minister Bheki Cele.
- Police minister Bheki Cele
- Mass shootings
- National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola
JOHANNESBURG – National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola has refuted claims that the rise in shootings in parts of the country are linked to organised crime.
Masemola was briefing the media on the country’s crime in Pretoria on Monday. His address comes on the back of several shooting across the country, including tavern shootings in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal. The commissioner was joined by Police Minister Bheki Cele.
Police commissioner Fannie Masemola said law enforcement is probing the mass shootings across the country with a fine-tooth comb as security structures scramble for answers.
The latest shooting in Marianhill, west of Durban, left seven dead when gunmen stormed a local tuckshop at the weekend. Another four people were killed in a separate shooting in Pietermaritzburg, while sixteen others were killed at a tavern in Orlando East in Soweto last month.
Masemola said their investigation so far shows no clear link between the shootings.
While the investigations are ongoing, he added the common thread in the motives of some of the shootings include extortion and drugs. Masemola said police are expected to give further details following the probes.
