Man shot dead at taxi rank

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One man was killed, while an ANC councillor was wounded when gunmen stormed a meeting and opened fire.

Cape Town - Western Cape police have arrested a 59-year-old suspect in connection with the murder of a 60-year-old man at the Bellville taxi rank.

Provincial police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Andre Traut said that police had responded to reports of the shooting at about 2.10pm on Thursday and had arrested the suspect two hours later.

“It is believed that the two men had an argument when the one shot the other.” The suspect is alleged to have fled the scene with the dead man’s firearm. Police refused to release the names of the two men.

Traut confirmed that they were both involved in the taxi industry. The suspect was arrested in Bellville.

“Police are investigating a murder case and the suspect is expected to appear in court once he has been charged,” Traut said.

Meanwhile, a City of Cape Town Sports and Recreation vehicle narrowly escaped injury after his vehicle was stoned and set alight by protesters on Thursday.

Metro police spokeswoman Yolanda Faro said that metro police officers responded to the protest action around 3.20pm yesterdaywhen protesters were reportedly stoning vehicles.

Faro said that about 100 protesters had gathered along Mew Way between Pama and Lansdowne roads.

The road was closed and the area was reported to be “volatile”, Faro said. By 4.30pm, the road was cleared, reopened and the driver of the council vehicle reported to be safe. City of Cape Town spokeswoman Kylie Hatton said that the driver of the Sports and Recreation vehicle - a canopied bakkie - was “fine and unhurt” but the bakkie was damaged.

By 5pm, Hatton said: “The area is reported to be quiet and quite calm at the moment. “Everything happened pretty quickly and was over pretty quickly.” She said that it was not clear what the reasons behind the protest were. “But it was a relatively small crowd,” she said. Traut said that police would monitor the area overnight.

Cape Argus