The head of the Teddy Bear Clinic has called for urgent action to protect vulnerable children, saying their safety must never be treated as negotiable after an 11-month-old baby was killed in gang-related violence on the Cape Flats.
Clinic director Shaheda Omar said the fatal shooting underscores how children are often the unintended victims of conflicts they did not create.
The baby, her mother and a family friend were shot dead on Tuesday night at a home in Bridgetown, Athlone after gunmen stormed the property. Two others were wounded and remain hospitalised. No arrests have yet been made.
Police data paints a grim picture. Nearly 500 children have been murdered in the Cape Flats over the past five years, with 157 cases confirmed as gang-related. Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia previously told Parliament that many gang-linked killings were concentrated around stations in Delft, Elsies River, Kleinvlei and Mitchells Plain — communities long plagued by turf wars and gun violence.
In 2024 alone, 333 children were treated at public health facilities in the Western Cape for firearm-related injuries between January and mid-June, highlighting how frequently minors are caught in crossfire.
The scale of the crisis has triggered national intervention. During his State of the Nation Address, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced plans to deploy members of the South African National Defence Force to assist police in combating gang violence in the province.
Western Cape Police Commissioner Thembisile Patekile said authorities are preparing for the arrival of the soldiers, with operations expected to focus on identified hotspot areas to curb murders, gun crime and drug-related activity.
But Omar warned that enforcement alone will not undo the harm. “When children are killed in their own communities, it means nowhere is safe,” she said, adding that the psychological trauma for families and survivors will linger long after the shooting stops.
Residents of Sunbird Court claimed the property had previously been linked to alleged drug dealing and had been the site of earlier violence. South African Police Service spokesperson Andre Traut said suspects who fled the scene are still being sought, but assured the community that all efforts are being made to bring those responsible to justice.
The tragedy echoes other recent incidents. Last August, a three-month-old baby was fatally shot in Bonteheuwel during a suspected gang attack, a case that further fuelled calls for stronger protection measures for children.
For many families, the message is painfully simple: when bullets fly, childhood is often the first casualty.