JOHANNESBURG - Police said on Thursday that they were still investigating a triple murder at a Johannesburg taxi rank last week, but had no leads.
Three people were gunned down and two others seriously wounded after an unknown man opened fire on them at Wanderers long-distance taxi rank near Joubert Park in central Johannesburg on Thursday night last week "without even saying a word".
Two of the deceased were identified as taxi owners and one could not be immediately identified. A taxi driver and street vendor were injured.
Police spokesperson Captain Mavela Masondo said that their leads had gone cold for now but they have not ruled out the possibility that the attack was related to ongoing taxi violence.
"We are still investigating the case, but there are no leads and no arrests have been made yet. We have since intensified police visibility at the taxi rank and the Wanderers Street vicinity. We suspect that the suspect used a pistol to shoot at the victims, and not a rifle," Masondo said.
"We have opened three dockets for murder and two for attempted murder. According to the information we have received, one man opened fire at the Wanderers taxi rank killing three people and injuring two others."
The National Taxi Alliance (NTA) said it was pained by the brutal killing of innocent people and its members, one of whom was a leader in the organisation.
"We abhor violence in the strongest possible terms and are vindicated as we have been calling on law-enforcement to beef up its efforts by apprehending culprits," NTA spokesperson Theo Malele said.
"The solution is to implement resolutions that have been advocated by the taxi industry. Mowing down people to address your inability to engage and be driven by greed on the other hand further threatens the future of the taxi industry."