Johannesburg - A shooting outside the Sangweni taxi rank in Tembisa, Ekurhuleni, on Thursday left a taxi boss dead and two others, including a police officer, wounded.
Police spokeswoman Lieutenant-Colonel Katlego Mogale said a group in a white bakkie stopped behind the taxi boss and shot him. He was confirmed dead at the scene.
The group then turned on a police officer who was patrolling the area and shot him in the leg.
“A woman who was driving past was also shot,” said Mogale.
The officer and the woman were taken to hospital and are in a stable condition.
A man who runs a stall opposite the rank said the taxi boss had stopped outside the entrance to buy fruit from a vendor. “A group of men drove behind him and fired a round of shots,” said the man, who did not want to be named.
“One of the shots hit him in the head and the others hit his body,” he said.
Chaos ensued as people scattered in fear.
“I was waiting in the line for a taxi when I heard the shots. I turned around and saw a man falling,” said Tembisa resident Sipho Mfumeni. “I ran and hid behind a car until it was quiet.”
The crime scene was abuzz with activity, with several residents standing behind a cordoned-off police line to catch a glimpse of the forensic officials clearing the spot.
The taxi boss’s family were holding each other as they sobbed. His young son, wearing his school uniform, was dropped off outside the rank and screamed as he ran to his family.
The Star