DURBAN - AN 11-year-old school girl was injured and a driver killed during an alleged taxi violence incident at Ridgeview in Mkhumbane near Cato Manor on Tuesday morning.
It is alleged that the scholar transport driver was driving kids to school when a vehicle with three suspects opened fire towards him.
According to KwaZulu-Natal provincial police spokesperson Colonel Thembeka Mbele, the incident took place just after 6.30am.
Mbele said the driver, believed to be in his thirties sustained gunshot wounds to the upper body and was declared dead at the scene.
She further confirmed that a school pupil was injured and was rushed to the hospital for medical attention.
“Charges of murder and attempted murder were opened for investigation at Cato Manor SAPS,” said Mbele.
Taxi-related violence in the province continues to be a problem and is often linked to disputes over routes.
In another incident on Tuesday, a 49-year-old man was shot dead while he was seated in his vehicle on Nkululeko Road in Waterloo, north of Durban.
According to the private security company Reaction Unit South Africa (Rusa), which responded to the scene, they were contacted by a resident just after 6.30pm, requesting urgent medical assistance for the man. The company said it was believed that the deceased was a taxi boss.
Rusa spokesperson Prem Balram said their team were dispatched to the scene and on arrival found the driver of a silver Toyota Corolla unresponsive in his vehicle.
The man was declared dead at the scene.
Mbele confirmed the incident and said a case of murder was being investigated by Verulam SAPS.
THE MERCURY