By MrLee
news@alexreporter.co.za
This man was caught trying to steal a car on 11th Avenue in the early hours of this morning in Alex.
He was almost reduced to a zombie when angry community members taught him an unpleasant lesson.
They then took him to the police while nursing his wounds after the horrific marination. But his accomplices who left him behind are still at large.
Patrollers have stopped working the streets of Alex, leaving criminals to run amok in the township.
Recently, angry residents hunted down two patrollers after they were accused by a gang of youths of murdering a cellphone thief last week.
Scrolla.Africa reported that the patrollers were captured and assaulted before being saved by the police and taken to Masakane Clinic.
That was the last time they or any of their colleagues were seen patrolling the township’s crowded and dangerous streets.
The patrollers are not without controversy. They don’t report to anyone, the police don’t verify them, and some have been accused of committing crimes on or off duty.
The township’s lack of patrollers has resulted in a dramatic increase in crime, with several hijackings, murders, street robberies, and incidents of gender-based violence reported to the police.
On Tuesday, a man who was driving with his toddler in his VW Polo was hijacked at gunpoint. The car hasn’t been found, and the child hasn’t been reunited with the parents.
Other recent incidents recorded by SAPS include:
*On June 28th, a man was hijacked along the busy London Road in Alex and survived a gunshot wound. Later, the car was found in the infamous Madala Hostel.
*On the same day, three suspects were arrested in Alexandra along London Road while trying to hijack a motorist. One of the hijackers was shot and wounded, while two others surrendered to the authorities.
*An unmarked JMPD Tactical Response Unit police car was driving behind the victim at the time of the hijacking. Officers fired shots, injuring one of the suspects.
*On Monday, July 1st, a man was shot dead along Roosevelt Avenue.
On the same day, another man was shot dead in the same street by a group of gunmen.
*A third victim died the same day when he was stabbed to death at the corner of Third and Roosevelt streets, next to Madala Hostel.
*On Wednesday, police arrested four teenagers who were allegedly part of the mob that assaulted two patrollers. They have been detained at Alexandra police station.
*A motorist was hijacked in Greenstone on Monday. The car was discovered in Alexandra.
*A Toyota Hilux belonging to the company was reported stolen in Edenvale on Tuesday, but it was recovered in Alex. Cops pounced on the suspects as they were stripping it.
*On the same day (Monday), another motorist was hijacked in Bramley along Forest Road, and the car was discovered in Alex.
*Also, on Monday, a woman was hijacked at gunpoint by three armed men at a filling station in the township.
*On July 5th, a man was gunned down on 3rd London Road in Alex.
Several other incidents have taken place in the township recently.
Vincent Ndima, one of the township’s community leaders, said the recent rise in crime is due to the patrollers’ absence.
“Criminals are aware that the patrollers who have been fighting crime in the streets of Alex are not working.”
He said the volunteer patrollers started their sterling work after six people were shot and killed in one night in July 2022.
Source: Scrolla.Africa
