“Lord, I Pray for Mitchells Plain”: A Community’s Anguish After Rocklands Mass Shooting

Prayers, Fury, and a Plea for the Army: A Community’s Raw Response to Tragedy

The digital streets of Mitchells Plain are echoing with a pain that is all too familiar. In the hours after a mass shooting in Rocklands claimed three livesincluding a young boy, 19-year-old Cleo Bailey, and 26-year-old Mougsheen Danielssocial media platforms have become a raw, unfiltered conduit for a community’s heartbreak, exhaustion, and rising fury.

On Saturday night, the quiet of Viscount Street was shattered. According to police, four unidentified gunmen stormed a property, opening fire before entering the house to shoot the victims. Two others were wounded. For neighbours, the location was a known point of tension, described as a problem spot where gang members allegedly hide out.

The Virtual Vigil: “This Must Stop”

In the absence of physical safety, residents turned to virtual spaces to mourn and demand change. On the Daily Voice Facebook page, a stream of comments painted a picture of a community under siege.

“Lord, I pray today for Mitchells Plain,” wrote one user, a sentiment echoed by others pleading for divine protection. But intertwined with the prayers was a sharper, more desperate tone. “This must stop – bring in the army and the government needs to act,” read one impassioned comment, highlighting a deep-seated frustration with perceived political inaction.

The anger is directed at the unrelenting cycle of violence that defines life on the Cape Flats. The death of the young boy, Zechariah, has cut particularly deep, symbolising the theft of innocence and future in a place scarred by gang warfare. Comments questioned the shooters’ motives and begged for community unity, but a common thread was a cry for tangible, forceful interventionstronger policing, protective measures, anything to break the pattern.

Police Condemnation and a Manhunt Underway

Western Cape Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant General Thembisile Patekile condemned the attack, stating gang violence “will not be allowed to hold communities hostage.” Police spokesperson Colonel Andrè Traut confirmed an intensive manhunt led by the Anti-Gang Unit, who are pursuing “several promising leads.”

Yet, for the residents voicing their anguish online, official condemnations and promises of investigations ring hollow against the reality of fresh loss. Their social media posts are more than just comments; they are a collective cry from a community that feels both terrorised and abandoned. They are documenting their own trauma in real-time, turning Facebook into a public square for grief and a petition for survival. As one user simply stated, capturing the weary dread of many: “I pray for the safety of everyone in the area.” In Mitchells Plain, that prayer feels less like a hope and more like a plea for a miracle.