Pretoria - A TAXI driver allegedly shot three of his fellow drivers in a fit of rage at Mahube taxi rank in Mamelodi on Monday after a brawl over who should first ferry passengers.
He killed one driver and critically wounded another.
The third was admitted to hospital and later discharged.
Police spokesman Michael Mbewe said there had been no reports of passengers injured.
But in a separate incident, a passenger, Thandi Lerutle, who was travelling in a taxi from Pretoria to Mamelodi Extension 5 was allegedly assaulted by the taxi driver.
She lodged a complaint at the taxi association offices after the assault, but did not open a case with police.
She said the driver dragged her out of the taxi after she refused to alight at the destination he had wanted to drop her off. She had bruises to the side of the face.
Explaining how the shooting happened, Mbewe said the dead driver was shot in the upper body and the critically injured driver in the lower body.
On Monday night, the critically injured man was fighting for his life at a Mamelodi hospital, according to Mbewe. He said a case of murder and two counts of attempted murder were being investigated.
The gunman, also a taxi driver, was on the run and police had launched a manhunt for him.
Mbewe said the incident happened at about 5am at the taxi rank near the BP service station on Solomon Mahlangu Drive. Taxi drivers at the rank apparently got involved in an argument, he said.
The three victims had allegedly ganged up against the shooter who wanted to jump the queue to transport passengers going to Pretoria east in the morning.
A heated argument ensued when the trio refused to give in and allow the driver to transport passengers before them.
According to accounts by drivers at the rank, the driver continued to demand to have his turn to transport passengers despite him being at the bottom of the list.
The trio allegedly attacked him with their bare hands and injured him in the face. He escaped and went to fetch a firearm.
About 30 minutes later, he returned with a firearm and allegedly shot at the three, wreaking havoc at the taxi rank.
About 10 gunshots were heard by bystanders who looked on in amazement as the horrifying scene unfolded before them.
GS Masemola, Mamelodi Amalgamated Taxi Association spokesman, said they were working with the police to get to the bottom of the problem.
Masemola said: “It hurts that a fight between drivers who used to work together had taken the life of one of them.”
Jobo Phiri, a Mamelodi resident who witnessed the incident, said the shooter was wrong because he had arrived late at the taxi rank.
The shot driver, known as Vusi, was rushed to the hospital but died on arrival.
Passenger, Kuki Nukeri, who lives in Section 2, said she was afraid to board a taxi to work because of the shooting incident.
She works in Menlyn and taxis were her only mode of transport to work.
“I am not feeling safe anymore. What if they shot one of the passengers by mistake?
Pretoria News