A disturbing video showing a gang toting assault rifles and, at one point, releasing gunfire near a railway line in Bishop Lavis, Cape Town, has gone viral.
Watch: Bishop Lavis gang releases gunfire in broad daylight
In the clip, two masked men are seen wielding assault weapons near train tracks. It’s unclear when the video was recorded, but the overcast weather suggests it was, in all likelihood, taken on a wintery Cape Town day.
One of the gunmen is filmed loading his rifle and standing guard. Another masked man appears in frame and, while cocking his weapon, approaches the camera and confronts “all those who take us for a ma se p***.”
“You are all lucky that you’re not here. I’ve arrived,” the gunman warns in Afrikaans gangster slang.
Right when the man is about to complete his claim about the people in question supposedly working for “the whites”, his armed accomplice randomly releases gunfire.
As if it was a call to arms, the mouthy gunman joins his partner in wildly shooting in all directions.
While reports have yet to surface with greater context on the Bishop Lavis shooting, according to renowned reporter Velani Ludidi, the men filmed in the viral clip are alleged extortionists accused of harassing railway subcontractors for ‘protection fees’.
In a statement sent to Swisher Post, Cape Town police spokesperson Captain Frederick Van Wyk “noted with concern the circulation of audio visual clips indicating individuals firing gunshots close to the railway line in the Bishop Lavis policing precinct.”
“Bishop Lavis police however bears no record of the incident reported at their offices for further investigation. The community members are encouraged to report criminal activities at their nearest SAPS offices in a bid to bring the perpetrators of justice to book,” Capt Van Wyk wrote.
From what we understand, Cape Town police may not pursue the incident until a case docket is filed at the Bishop Lavis precinct.
It’s believed the suspects in the viral video were still at large at the time this article was published.
