Four people have died and three others injured when a group of men went on a shooting spree at a Johannesburg taxi rank on Thursday morning.
One of the victims of the cowardly act that took place in Doornfontein was a university student.
According to the police, of the seven victims, four were declared dead on the scene, while three were taken to the hospital with gunshot wounds.
Colonel Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi, a police spokesperson, stated that the suspects went into a taxi rank in Doornfontein, which is part of the Jeppe policing precinct, and began shooting at random.
The injured student was waiting for a bus to go to the university, according to Nevhuhulwi.
“The shooting is suspected to be taxi violence-related, and the matter will be investigated by the provincial taxi violence unit,” Nevhuhulwi stated.
Taxi drivers killed at Zonkizizwe rank
On Wednesday, three people were killed in another shooting incident that was reported at the Zonkizizwe taxi rank in Katlehong, southeast of Johannesburg.
“It is reported that unknown people driving a white BMW randomly shot at bystanders at the rank,” said Nevhuhulwi.
“The deceased were identified as taxi drivers. Two passengers were injured and taken to the hospital.”
No suspects had been arrested in either case, according to Nevhuhulwi.
Men linked to taxi industry murders shot dead
In a bid to fight the scourge, four suspects wanted for murders connected to the taxi industry were shot and killed in a high-speed car chase and shootout with police in Mooi River, KwaZulu-Natal, in November 2024.
KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said at the time that police officers conducted an operation after they received intelligence about the suspects’ presence in the Mooi River area.
Netshiunda said police intercepted the suspects’ vehicle on the N3 highway and signalled to the driver to stop.
However, the driver sped off and took the Hidcote turn-off, joining the R103 road towards Estcourt. This led to a chase and a deadly shootout.
