Durban - Eleven people were injured in a mass shooting incident in Johannesburg on Wednesday, just hours after a shooting at Poppy's Restaurant in Melville that claimed two lives, the provincial government has confirmed.
"The Gauteng government strongly condemns the shooting incidents which took place in the early hours of New Year's day at two two different locations," said Gauteng's acting premier, Panyaza Lesufi, in a statement.
"At about 3am, gunshots were fired at Mary Fitzgerald Square; eleven people were wounded and rushed to hospital. According to paramedics, four males were seriously injured," said Lesufi.
That shooting was preceded by another just before 2am, where shots were fired from a black BMW X3 into a crowd of people sitting on the verandah of Poppy's Restaurant, he said.
In that incident, two women were fatally shot and died at the scene. Six others were injured and rushed to hospital, two of them critical.
"As the province we are saddened by this barbaric act. New Year’s day is a day of hope and celebration, a day where people plan their lives for the better,” said Lesufi.
He said preliminary investigations into the Mary Fitzgerald Square incident revealed that the shooter fired several shots from the upper level of the M2 (south bound) double-decker bridge and targeted the VIP area.
"I have all the trust in our police that the perpetrators will be brought to book. We are determined as the province to half crime by 2030, this incident will not deter us in achieving this vision,” said Lesufi.
Police said a statement would be issued on the Mary Fitzgerald Square shooting later in the day. No arrests have been made.