Gauteng police are investigating reports of a boy being hit in the face by a rubber bullet on Monday morning during a protest at Thembelihle, south of Johannesburg.
“The residents claim that he was shot by a rubber bullet from police...we cannot confirm this but the boy, about 11-years-old, has been taken to hospital,” Lieutenant-Colonel Katlego Mogale said.
Eyewitness News posted a photo of the boy on a twitter feed with a bloody wound on his right cheek.
“We also have a report of a police officer who was hit by a rock and injured...we don't have any more details at this stage.”
About 300 people blocked Klipspruit Valley Road with burning tyres from 3am in a protest over poor service delivery.
Police said they fired rubber bullets to stop residents from throwing stones at them. Captain Hector Netshivhodza said three cars and a traffic light were damaged by stones.
Twenty people were arrested for public violence and malicious damage to property.
Johannesburg metro police spokesman Wayne Minnaar said Klipspruit Valley Road was blocked off between Volta Street in Thembelihle and Bangalore Drive in Lenasia.
He recommended the Golden Highway as an alternative route.
Mogale described the scene as “quiet and calm at the moment”. – Sapa