[ad_1]
Some of the supplies confiscated on Guy Fawkes day.
- Law enforcement officers responded to a series of violent incidents Thursday.
- Mayco member JP Smith said Guy Fawkes Day had been associated, in recent years, with “acts of violence and intimidation by crowds of young people.”
- He cautioned that fireworks were not allowed, unless a permit had been obtained for a fireworks display.
Law enforcement officers were very busy on Guy Fawkes Day as they responded to violent incidents in Cape Town as people “celebrated” the annual commemoration.
Spokesman Wayne Dyason said that in Steenberg, Lavender Hill, Vrygrond, Seawinds and Pelican Park, groups of youths had been reported attacking each other and bystanders wearing socks filled with paint or shoe polish.
“Cars have also been attacked. In Macassar, fireworks and stones were thrown at passing vehicles,” he said.
“On Military Road, Steenberg, a truck had its windshield smashed by rocks.”
Stopping those behind the chaos was difficult as the groups disappeared between houses when officers responded to the scene, Dyason said.
The mayor’s safety committee member JP Smith said Wednesday that Guy Fawkes Day had, in recent years, been associated with “acts of violence and intimidation by mobs of young people” at several hotspots. from the city.
Last year, the public emergency communications center received nearly 350 calls, mostly related to the illegal discharge of fireworks, while law enforcement services responded to reports of car stoning and assaults.
The law enforcement agencies also confiscated fireworks that were being sold illegally.
By Wednesday morning, the call center had received at least 18 calls in three days from people complaining about the illegal sale and discharge of fireworks, Smith said.
“The crimes of Guy Fawkes are perpetrated by a minority calling for ransom from law-abiding citizens in the name of fun. I have made it very clear in the past that this outdated tradition must end,” Smith said.
“Aside from the indiscriminate launching of fireworks that disturb the peace and terrorize animals and communities, senseless violence directed at motorists and pedestrians simply cannot be tolerated.”
He cautioned that fireworks were not allowed unless a permit to display them had been obtained; no one can store or sell fireworks without the necessary permits; Anyone under the age of 16 was not allowed to handle fireworks, and the discharge of fireworks in a public place without a permit was prohibited.
