Durban - A quiet Thursday afternoon in the suburb of Egerton, Ladysmith, was shaken by the sound of rapid high calibre gun fire as taxi boss and another man was gunned down.
The taxi boss and the man died in their bullet-riddled micro-bus and a third was seriously injured on Fairclough Street when assailants in a white BWM bearing a Gauteng registration opened fire.
Residents and pedestrians ran for cover as shots rang out across the street.
The shooting is believed to be related to the ongoing feud between two rival taxi associations over the lucrative Johannesburg-Durban long haul. It is the third shooting to occur in Ladysmith this week as fear grows of an all-out taxi war.
The first shooting happened in Burford on Sunday when a taxi boss was gunned down and died. On Tuesday a taxi driver was shot on Lyell Street but managed to escape.
Relatives of a Ladysmith taxi boss who was gunned down yesterday console each other after gunmen opened fire on their quiet Fairclough Street. Picture: Claudine Senekal / Ladysmith Herald
Thursday's shooting was particularly rattling for Ladysmith residents as the taxi feud spilled into suburbia.
Reeling in shock, residents could not believe that this kind of violence broke out in a quiet street of their neighbourhood.
People watched in horror as the incident unfolded before them.
"There were bullets flying over our house," said one crying resident.
"Our children were playing outside when the gunshots come out of nowhere. Some fell to the ground for safety."
Police were quick on scene.
Details of the shooting remained sketchy as police cordoned off the area.
Police said that they were told by witnesses that the BMW raced off towards the N11 to make its getaway.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Jay Naicker said that two counts of murder have been opened for investigation by Ladysmith SAPS.
He said two people aged 40 and 58 were fatally shot whilst driving on Fairclough in Ladysmith by unknown suspects.
Naicker said they sustained multiple gunshot wounds to the body and were declared dead at the scene.