‘Taxi violence’ reported in Centurion

Eyewitness Trevor Tsuke said two men were hitch-hiking when a taxi driver stopped, ordering them to get into his vehicle, Centurion Rekord reported.

When the men refused, the taxi driver allegedly beat one of them with a golf club, Tsuke said. The other man ran off as the driver kept up his attack on the first one.

ER24 spokesperson Chitra Bodasing said the injured man, believed to be in his 40s, was found in a veld with severe injuries.

“Paramedics assessed the man and found he sustained multiple injuries. He was treated and transported to hospital for further medical care,” she said.

Orange Fox response team’s Ruan Heyns said other three reports relating to taxi violence in the same area were received today.

The first was at Southdowns shopping centre, where shots were fired and a man was assaulted.

Lyttelton police spokesperson Warrant Officer Hero Gumbu confirmed this. He said shots were fired from a red car, believed to be a VW Golf, at two taxis at the shopping centre.

“A man was transported to a nearby hospital with severe injuries,” said Gumbu.

At a BP fuel station, a man was attacked and severely beaten. Paramedics took him to hospital. Another man was beaten in Jan Smuts Avenue not far from the BP fuel station, Heyns said.

Two people were in a critical but stable condition, said Heyns.

Gumbu said the violence seemed to be limited to one area, but police were still investigating.

He said another occurrence in Woodlands relating to taxi violence had also been reported.

– Caxton News Service