Key figures in the Cape Underworld on Friday warned that the death of Rashied Staggie, founder and leader of the notorious Hard Livings gang, would lead to a bloody war on the Cape Flats.
Upset Hard Livings gang members, scattered across the Plains, swore revenge on Friday after Staggie was shot right in front of his home.
“We will not rest until his murderers are found,” said a member of the gang outside the hospital, where Staggie died.
The gang-ravaged neighborhoods of Manenberg and Mitchell’s Plain were already tense over possible revenge attacks, with community leaders all fearing retaliation.
Western Cape police confirmed the shooting incident and said forensic experts were combing the scene for clues after a 58-year-old man was shot and wounded in London Road.
“The man died on arrival at a nearby hospital,” said Brig. Police spokesperson Novela Potelwa said.
According to police preliminary information, Staggie was sitting in his vehicle when two unknown shooters struck and fired several shots at him. They then fled on foot.
Potelwa said Woodstock police deployed reinforcements in and around the Salt River area shortly after the incident.
Gang members who are in close contact with the Staggies have confirmed that the car in which he was sitting is full of bullet holes and the footage from security cameras at his home apparently shows two suspects approaching and firing the vehicle.
Photos of the vehicle show at least 12 bullet holes in the windshield, one in the bonnet and another on the side of the silver-colored Toyota.
According to friends, his son rushed him to the hospital, but he did not survive the attack.
Fighting gangs have long been searching for Staggie’s blood in the bloody gang wars that have been raging lately between the Hard Livings and the 28s.
