Five men were killed within minutes of each other in two drive-by shootings on the R102 in Tongaat, KZN, yesterday afternoon.

The motive for the hits has not been confirmed, but it is believed that a local taxi boss was targeted and that both incidents were linked given their quick succession.

It follows a week of shootings in KZN after five people were killed in separate incidents in Springfield Park and Berea on Tuesday.

Latest killings

At around 13:15 yesterday, two men were killed near the intersection of the R102 (Gopalall Hurbans road) and the M43 (Watson highway).

It is understood they were stationary at the traffic lights when an unknown number of assailants from a passing car opened fire on their Volkswagen Polo.

The victims were driving a branded ‘park and fly’ service car from the nearby King Shaka International Airport.

“The men were both declared dead on scene with multiple bullet wounds. The third passenger in the car, a woman, was injured in the shooting but was stabilised by paramedics and taken to hospital for further treatment,” said IPSS Medical Rescue spokesperson Dylan Meyrick.

Minutes later, three men were killed with suspected high calibre weapons in a separate drive-by shooting at the intersection of the R102 and R614 (Noodesberg Road).

The intersection is approximately 4km north of the first incident, but it is currently unclear whether it was the same gunmen involved.

“A Ford Ranger bakkie carrying five men was shot at near the traffic lights. The men were security officers in uniform,” said Meyrick.

The other two passengers were seriously injured, with one in critical condition when paramedics arrived.

According to Reaction Unit South African spokesperson Prem Balram, the men in the Ford Ranger were armed taxi security guards.

“After the second shooting, a man arrived at the scene in a white Mercedes-Benz and identified himself as a taxi boss. He said he was the target of the hits, but was able to escape on the R614,” said Balram.

The man had allegedly been a target of a third shooting yesterday, but escaped the attackers after abandoning his car on the R614, he said.

“The taxi boss and his driver were both bloodied but not seriously injured. The details of the third shooting are not yet clear,” said Balram.

Tongaat SAPS confirmed the details of the first two shootings and that no suspects had been arrested at time of publication. The police were unable to provide further comment.

Helicopters have been called in to help with the search for the suspects.