Westbury residents fear for their lives amid upsurge in gang violence

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Residents of Westbury in Johannesburg say they are once again living in fear for their lives, following yet another upsurge in gang-related violence in the area.

In the latest incident just on Wednesday, a 43-year-old man was shot and killed in an apparent hit, whilst at a family function in Newlands.

His 13-year-old daughter was also caught in the crossfire and sustained a gunshot wound to the leg.

Late last month, four people were also shot and killed in an alleged gang-related attack.

Community activist Jefferson Johnson, says more than 50 people have been shot in the area since the beginning of this year.

“Our community is in tremendous fear you know. This is more of the time you can have more social time and do what you want to do in the morning but the minute you see it’s a bit quiet then you know something is about to go down. I think for this year alone we should be on a number for this area alone and we now only in October and it should be about 52 or 55 people that were shot in the area.”

Gang Violence | We are running scared – Westbury Community Activist