Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia has promised increased police resources for gang-affected communities following the Reiger Park shooting that left four people dead over the weekend. Two civilians were killed before two anti-gang unit officers were ambushed while responding to reports of gunfire in the area. The officers were part of a crime-prevention team patrolling Reiger Park in the City of Ekurhuleni.
The two police officers were killed during the response to the shooting, with their service firearms taken from the scene. The weapons were later recovered at an informal settlement in Germiston on Monday. Police have also taken a known local gang member in for questioning, according to Cachalia.
Cachalia said he had brought senior police leadership into the response as authorities work to address gang violence in the area. Acting National Police Commissioner General Puleng Dimpane and Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi have been roped into efforts to deal with the situation. The minister said additional resources would be directed towards communities affected by gangs.
Reiger Park Shooting: Police Target Gang Violence
Speaking to the media on Monday, Cachalia described the challenge faced by police in communities where gangs have established networks. He said gangs can become embedded in communities by using resources obtained through criminal activity to build relationships with residents. Cachalia said this can include providing food parcels to members of the community.
“These killers are merciless as we’ve seen; we know that these gangs are able to embed themselves in communities because they use their positions of power and resources they gain through criminal activity to embed members of the community in their networks by providing food parcels and so forth. That is what makes dealing with this problem so difficult”
The Reiger Park shooting has also left families demanding answers over the circumstances surrounding the deaths of the two women. A family member of one of the victims said he believed the women may have been lured to the shop where they were attacked. The women were killed before the two anti-gang officers were ambushed while responding to gunfire.
Reiger Park Shooting: Family Describes Deadly Attack
Chris Langsberg, who is speaking on behalf of the family of 27-year-old Jayden Magerman, said the circumstances surrounding the attack could become clearer through investigators’ examination of cellphone communications. He said the sequence of events appeared to show that the women were attacked after one of them returned to a vehicle with cash to make a payment. Langsberg described the attack as deliberate and carried out at close range.
“Clearly, these things will reveal themselves through cellphones, communication and stuff. She goes back to the car, she takes cash to go and pay; they wait for her to be in the car, and they come and hit the two girls. Literally execution style, it’s not people who stood 50 metres away.”
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Magerman’s father, Dean Magerman, said the family was devastated by the loss of his daughter. He described Jayden as someone who brought happiness to the household and helped keep peace within the family. He also said he was satisfied with the efforts being made by police to find those responsible.
“These perpetrators took our daughter, the spark of our lives that keeps our home happy and is a mediator in the house; she was a jovial kid, and now she is gone. I am just happy that the police are giving it their all to get the perpetrators.”
Reiger Park Shooting: Stolen Police Firearms Recovered
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The investigation into the Reiger Park shooting is continuing, with the firearms taken from the slain officers recovered at an informal settlement in Germiston on Monday. Police have also questioned a known local gang member who is currently out on bail in connection with cases that include murder and attempted murder. Authorities have not indicated whether the questioning has resulted in any charges.
Cachalia said senior police officials would be involved in efforts to respond to gang violence in the affected area. The minister has confirmed that General Puleng Dimpane and Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi are part of the response. The four deaths have placed renewed attention on policing in Reiger Park and surrounding gang-affected communities.
