Athlone residents reeling with fear after fatal gang-related shooting

Bridgetown residents, in Athlone, are gripped in fear a nine-month-old baby was shot dead in the gang-riddled area last night.

Police say the infant and two women, aged 25 and 36, were fatally wounded in the shooting at Sunbird Court while two others were injured and are being treated in hospital.

One of the deceased is the baby's mother.

The shooting comes just days before the imminent deployment of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to gang-ravaged areas in the Western Cape, Gauteng and the Eastern Cape.

An eery silence hangs over the community of Bridgetown on Wednesday, after a shooting at a known drug den in the area left a nine-month-old baby dead.

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Residents refused to speak to EWN, saying they don't want to put their own lives at risk.

A family member of one of the deceased, who asked not to be named, had this to say about the imminent deployment of the SANDF to gang-riddled areas.

"I really don't know... I can't say... I'm just not in the right state."

Neighbours were also seen collecting identity documents from the residence to make funeral arrangements for the deceased.

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