Call for more police resources to address crime in Wentworth following arrest of suspect for matric pupil’s murder
|Published
Leyton Fynn was shot dead in Wentworth Leyton Fynn was shot dead while walking to holiday classes in Wentworth. Picture: Supplied
Durban - The Wentworth Community Policing Forum (CPF) has called for more resources to deal with crime in the area.
This comes after there were two shooting incidents within a week. Matric pupil Leyton Fynn, 17, was shot dead last Tuesday while walking to school to attend holiday classes. On Sunday, a man shot three people before turning the gun on himself.
The police on Wednesday announced a breakthrough in Leyton’s murder with the arrest of 18-year-old Dondre Addison for the murder. Addison was arrested by Wentworth police on Saturday and appeared in the Durban Magistrate’s Court on July 3 where he was remanded for a bail application set to take place on Friday.
In the other shooting, police spokesperson Constable Thenjiswa Ngcobo said Wentworth police were investigating cases of murder, attempted murder and an inquest docket following an incident in which three people were allegedly shot by a suspect on July 2 on Woodville Road.
Ngcobo said the three victims were rushed to hospital, and one person died upon arrival.
“Reports indicate that the suspect arrived at the said place and shot the victims, who sustained multiple gunshot wounds before he fled. The 31-year-old suspect allegedly returned back at the scene, shot himself, and was declared dead,” she said.
Days after Leyton’s murder dozens of Wentworth residents held a peaceful march calling for an end to the violence.
Wentworth CPF public relations officer Andre de Bruin said the crime in the area was beyond the capability of the police station’s resources and called for the provincial and national government to step up to assist the residents.
“The past few years have been a burial playground in Wentworth with drug and gang turf wars. These criminals are more intelligent than some people with degrees, they know beforehand that a raid is going to happen, they know where the road blocks are. They have their fingers on the pulse,” he said.
De Bruin said the police station was under-resourced in both officers and vehicles, adding that they often saw police vehicles from Lamotville and Umbilo driving through Wentworth.
He said that unless political parties and the provincial and national government took a stand against the violence, nothing would change.
“Wentworth should be placed on lockdown from 6pm for six months. Not just a roadblock on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday, and then we don't see them again,” he said.
Tshepi Mmekwa, from police watchdog group Action Society, said earlier this year that the spate of shootings in Durban were a direct result of the lack of crime intelligence and resources for local police.
At the time, Mmekwa said Durban, specifically Wentworth and Austerville, had become a war zone with residents, including pupils, fleeing from gunshots and drive-by shootings.
“We are concerned about the lack of government action to address the rise in violent crime and make arrests, which is allowing criminals to run rampant in the province,” said Mmekwa.
“The provincial budget allocated to the Department of Community Safety and Liaison decreased from R249 million in 2020/2021 to R236m in 2022/23. This budget is the lowest across all provincial government departments, indicating the government's lack of prioritisation of citizen safety,” she said.