- The murder of a 12-year-old girl has sent shock waves through the community, again calling on an end to gang violence and a gun-free society.
- Firdous Kleinsmidt was killed by a stray bullet while waiting for her school transport in Beacon Valley on Tuesday 30 January at 11:20.
- According to police, the sterling, around-the-clock investigative work by the investigating officer Detective Sgt Bradley Schuurman who is attached to Anti-Gang Unit led to the arrest of a 27-year-old Eastridge man on Wednesday 31 January in connection with the murder.
The murder of a 12-year-old girl has sent shock waves through the community, again calling on an end to gang violence and a gun-free society.
Firdous Kleinsmidt was killed by a stray bullet while waiting for her school transport in Beacon Valley on Tuesday 30 January at 11:20.
According to police, the sterling, around-the-clock investigative work by the investigating officer Detective Sgt Bradley Schuurman who is attached to Anti-Gang Unit led to the arrest of a 27-year-old Eastridge man on Wednesday 31 January in connection with the murder.
Western Cape Minister of Police Oversight and Community Safety, Reagen Allen commended police on this arrest.
“This suspect should provide all the detail into this unnecessary and senseless incident. There was no need for this young girl to lose her life in this manner. I once again urge police to apply the Prevention of Organised Crime Act (POCA), so that the suspect has additional charges,” he says.
The suspect appeared in the Mitchell’s Plain Magistrate’s Court on Friday 2 February.
Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis welcomed the arrest of a suspect in this “tragic stray bullet killing”.
“This is a most heart-breaking tragedy of a 12-year-old child killed while simply waiting outside her school for her transport home. What her family is going through is indescribable, and I extend my deepest condolences and my personal prayers to them. It is vital for the criminal justice system to send the strongest possible message to gangsters: that there will be convictions and justice for those responsible for this innocent life lost,” he says.
Following the murder, activists and residents held an anti-crime protest outside the Kyalami Street school on Wednesday 31 January.
Lynn Phillips, secretary of the Cape Flats Safety Forum said at the event: “This is not the first death of a minor child. Know that we have been preaching this all over again.”
The shooting has angered residents and follows the recent call for action regarding the theft of firearms from the Mitchell’s Plain police station.
Abie Isaacs, chair of the forum again reiterated his call for the station management to be suspended pending the outcome of the investigation.
“We are sick and tired of these gangsters terrorising our people,” said crime activist Yusuf Abramjee.
This protest was followed by a community prayer march on Monday 05 February.
The walk started at the Beacon Valley community hall and ended at the school.
