A total of seven people were found dead under a railway bridge in KwaMashu in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal police said on Tuesday.
Spokesperson Brigadier Jay Naicker said the men were found on Monday night lying in a line and had been shot execution-style in the head and body.
“Police received a report of multiple bodies that were found underneath a railway bridge on October 23,” said Naicker.
“Upon arrival at the scene, police found the bodies of seven deceased men. It is alleged that the victims, believed to be in their thirties, were shot and killed by unknown suspects.”
He said while the circumstances surrounding the incident are being investigated, it is suspected the men were killed in an act of vigilantism after they were suspected of stealing.
“The docket has been transferred to the Provincial Organised Crime for investigation.”
There have been a spate of shootings in the Durban area in the past few months.
In September, two businessmen who were involved in an import/export car business was found dead on Hunter Road in the Durban CBD.
In August, two businessman were killed days apart.
One was gunned down on Inanda Road while off-loading items outside his business, while the other was shot dead near the Oceans Mall in uMhlanga in an apparent drive-by shooting.
There were two mass shooting incidents in Marianhill this year. In February five people were gunned down at a mechanic shop, followed by another six people at a meeting in June.
However police made a breakthrough when they shot and killed five people allegedly linked to the February shooting.
At the time of the shootings Democratic Alliance (DA) councillor Nicole Bollman has called for proactive engagement on crime.
“The escalating incidents of gun violence and open firearm brandishing are a cause for concern and need to be addressed urgently.”
IOL