{"id":101722,"date":"2025-10-24T10:28:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-24T08:28:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/?p=101722"},"modified":"2025-10-24T10:28:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T08:28:08","slug":"westbury-mass-shooting-prompts-calls-for-stronger-gang-crackdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/westbury-mass-shooting-prompts-calls-for-stronger-gang-crackdown\/","title":{"rendered":"Westbury Mass Shooting Prompts Calls for Stronger Gang Crackdown"},"content":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za<\/a>
\n3-minute read | 24 October 2025 | 10:25 CAT<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"

\ud83d\udcf8 Image: Police and community members at the scene of a Westbury gang-related shooting. Photo credits: Itumeleng English\/Independent Newspapers.<\/p><\/div>\n

Two teenagers have been killed and five others wounded in a devastating shooting in Westbury, Johannesburg – a tragedy the Gauteng Provincial Legislature\u2019s Portfolio Committee on Community Safety has described as \u201cdeeply shocking and saddening.\u201d<\/p>\n

The incident unfolded in the Firetown area when four teenagers allegedly opened fire on another group of youths sitting on the porch of a house. According to authorities, both groups are suspected of being members of rival gangs.<\/p>\n

Committee chairperson Dr Bandile Masuku spoke to\u00a0Radio Islam International<\/em>,<\/a> confirming that the wounded victims remain in the hospital. \u201cOne was transferred to a tertiary hospital because of the severity of the injuries,\u201d said Masuku. \u201cWhat is being suspected is that it is gang-related\u00a0and it\u2019s all about what is happening in Westbury.\u201d<\/p>\n

Police investigations are ongoing, with officers following up on \u201creliable information\u201d and eyewitness accounts that could lead to arrests.<\/p>\n

Dr Masuku voiced serious concern about the growing involvement of youth in gang violence, noting that those involved in this latest shooting are aged between 14 and 19<\/strong>. \u201cIt is a phenomenon we\u2019ve been observing over the past years,\u201d he said. \u201cNow it\u2019s youngsters who are not only transporting drugs but also becoming hitmen. The gangs are actually recruiting the youngsters.\u201d<\/p>\n

He highlighted that prosecuting minors poses additional challenges. \u201cBecause of their age, it becomes very difficult to put them on trial without complications in the justice system,\u201d Masuku explained.<\/p>\n

The Portfolio Committee has called for immediate, strengthened efforts by law enforcement agencies, particularly the anti-gang unit operating across Gauteng in areas such as Westbury, Riverlea, and Eldorado Park. Masuku emphasised that consistent data is essential to tackling the crisis effectively.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe call that we are making, particularly to the police, is that they must start giving us statistics that relate to crimes committed through gangs,\u201d he urged. \u201cThis will help us raise awareness because if we focus on recruiting the gangs circulating in our communities, a number of crime categories will actually reduce drastically.\u201d<\/p>\n

As investigations continue, the community of Westbury remains gripped by grief and fear, with residents calling for increased police visibility and youth rehabilitation programmes to address the deep-rooted cycle of violence.<\/p>\n

Listen<\/strong> to the full interview on Your World Today<\/em> <\/a>with Mufti Yusuf Moosagie and Dr Bandile Masuku.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za 3-minute read | 24 October 2025 | 10:25 CAT Two teenagers have been killed and five others wounded in a devastating shooting in Westbury, Johannesburg – a tragedy the Gauteng Provincial Legislature\u2019s Portfolio Committee on Community Safety has described as \u201cdeeply shocking and saddening.\u201d The incident unfolded in the Firetown area […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":101723,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[28,4995],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-101722","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","category-south-africa"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Screenshot-2025-10-24-102116.jpg?fit=853%2C566&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0QIf-qsG","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-13 06:59:08","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101722","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101722"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101722\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/101723"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101722"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101722"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101722"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}