No arrests in suspected taxi violence shooting

“No arrests have been made as yet,” Akasia police spokesperson Constable Lindiwe Mdluli said.

The taxi driver, who could not yet be named, was shot and killed at around 04:50 on Wednesday, 16 September, at the corner of the R566 road and Doreen Avenue.

“A murder docket was opened for investigation at our station and the investigation is still ongoing. We appeal to anyone with information that could lead to the arrest of these criminals not to hesitate to contact us on 012-564-0700,” she said, adding it was because of this that she could not divulge the deceased driver’s details.

Mdluli told Pretoria Rekord hours after the shooting, shots were fired from a Toyota Conquest at the driver’s Toyota Quantum.

“The two unknown occupants in the Conquest overtook the driver then fired several shots which killed the driver of the Quantum,” she said.

The driver, who was understood to have been travelling alone at the time, was declared dead at the scene.

The killing of the driver, however, was not a unique occurrence as numerous other suspected and confirmed taxi-violence related shootings and killings have occurred in the city’s deadly taxi industry in recent weeks.

Earlier this month, provincial police spokesperson Brigadier Mathapelo Peters said two taxi drivers were shot and killed in two separate incidents on Friday, 11 September.

In the first incident, a 50-year-old taxi driver was fatally shot at the corner of Lillina Ngoyi and Madiba streets in the afternoon.

In the second incident, a 40-year-old taxi driver was shot and injured while sitting in a taxi at the Shongwe taxi rank in Atteridgeville in the early evening.

While “maximum resources” were mobilised to track the assailants, Peters had not responded to Rekord’s enquiry to find out if they had made any progress in the investigations.

Previously, provincial police commissioner Lieutenant-General Elias Mawela said: “Taxi violence poses a threat to the safety and the lives of innocent commuters. It is, for this reason, the investigators must urgently deploy all available resources towards apprehending the perpetrators and decisively curbing this violence.”

In August, a massive shoot-out broke out when another bout of taxi violence occurred along Dr Savage Street, in front of the Tshwane district pathological services gates.

During the gun battle, a suspect was shot dead and three police officers wounded.

A total of 11 suspects were subsequently arrested – one was reportedly found in possession of a licensed firearm but unlicensed ammunition.