Two taxi passengers were shot in Umhlali on Monday night after police allegedly mistook their vehicle for one involved in a hijacking.

According to initial reports, members of the Police Emergency Services (PES) task team identified a taxi matching the description of a vehicle reported hijacked and attempted to intercept it.

Police spokesperson Captain Ntathu Ndlovu confirmed that Umhlali police are investigating two counts of attempted murder.

“Police received information that a stolen vehicle was spotted on the N2, resulting in a high-speed chase.

After various unsuccessful attempts to stop the vehicle and observing its blatant disregard for road safety, officers opened fire to bring it to a halt,” said Ndlovu.

No arrests have been made and no fatalities were reported.

Among the injured was a 39-year-old man, critically wounded after being shot in the chest and a 26-year-old woman who was shot in the leg.

The owner of the taxi, who asked to be identified only as Mr Ndlovu, said the driver noticed a vehicle following him after dropping off a passenger in Shaka’s Head.

As he approached the Umhlali traffic lights, shots were allegedly fired.

“That’s when he stopped. But I’m told the police continued firing even after the taxi had halted. The vehicle had number plates, passengers and association stickers. They could have just pulled it over,” said Mr Ndlovu.

Richard David, spokesperson for the Dolphin Coast Taxi Association, condemned the shooting.

“There was no need to open fire. Taxi drivers are stopped regularly. This was reckless and now innocent people are injured. It could have been avoided,” he said.

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