UPDATE: Police confirm attempted murder and arson cases opened after Plastic City attack
The gunmen allegedly emerged from the Weltevreden Landfill Site before opening fire and torching shacks.
Brakpan police are appealing for information as investigations get underway following an attack in Plastic City this morning, during which an armed group reportedly began shooting indiscriminately and set several shacks alight in the informal settlement.
Constable Audrey Buthelezi, Brakpan SAPS Sector 1 commander and communications officer, confirmed local police were summoned to the settlement in the early morning hours after reports of random shooting and shacks set alight.
“When SAPS members arrived, other law enforcement agencies had also arrived,” she said.
“Distraught community members explained to the police that Basotho nationals emerged from the Weltevreden Landfill Site and started shooting randomly. They also torched some shacks, and the fire started spreading and affecting more shacks.
“Men, women, and children fled from their shacks and sought refuge in the CBD.”
According to Buthelezi, this incident follows another random shooting spree in Plastic City on August 30, during which two people were killed.
She stated that people who were shot and injured in the latest incident were taken to a nearby health facility for medical attention.
“No fatalities have been reported this far, and the extent of the damage to the burned shacks is yet to be determined,” she said.
Brakpan police have registered a case of attempted murder and arson, and investigations have commenced.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the police on 08600 10111 or 011 744 4111.
