Tension remains high in Wesbury as police pursue teenage suspects in gang-related shooting

As the situation remains tense in the neighborhood of Wesbury following the mass shooting of seven youths on Tuesday, National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola has indicated that his officers are closing in on four teenage suspects linked to the mass shooting that left two dead and five others wounded in Westbury on Tuesday.

Masemola visited the area on Wednesday morning, saying that for gang violence to be resolved in the area and other neighbourhoods affected by drugs and gang violence, residents must work with the police.

"Even though we can't say, we will be arresting the suspects in the next hour. It is a matter of time before we track down these teenagers. We are on their trail as our crime intelligence operatives, detectives, and men and women in blue are on the ground actively searching for these suspects at various areas of interest,” Masemola told members of the media gathered outside Sophiatown Police Station.

According to the police, five of the victims are still recovering in the hospital, while the deceased victims have been identified as 17-year-old Diegan Ryters and 18-year-old Tigan du Plessis.

For the better part of Wednesday, police maintained a strong presence in a bid to calm down the situation, which, according to reports, has been fuelled by older drug syndicates luring young children to become their runners.

On Tuesday, it was reported that mergency response teams and law enforcement agencies were called onto the scene after receiving reports of multiple gunshots in the area. On arrival, Paramedics, who were called to the scene treated several victims at the scene before transporting seven of them to nearby hospitals, where two were declared dead just after 1pm following an alleged gang related violence shooting by four other teenagers, who are still on the run.