Apparent taxi association dispute leads to alleged shooting
SUNNINGHILL - It is alleged that a dispute among taxi drivers, which continued throughout the day, escalated on the afternoon of 4 February, and two people were allegedly shot and a taxi was burnt.
Emer-G-Med paramedics posted on their Facebook page that the dispute was over the taxi route to and from the new Waterfall Shopping Centre.
The paramedics said that several shots were fired. They said, “One person was shot in the abdomen and was taken to hospital. At this point it is not clear if they were a taxi driver or a bystander. Another person sustained a soft tissue injures from a bullet scraping his back.”
Emer-G-Med paramedics confirmed that police and Metro police were on the scene and that it was under control.
“One person had weapons on them and has been arrested,” said the paramedics.
4 February, 5.14pm:
On the morning of 4 February, @SAPoliceService tweeted, “#sapsGP +-50 taxis have gathered at cnr Woodmead/Maxwell Drives, apparent taxi association dispute; police monitoring, no traffic problem.”
At around 4pm, community members travelling in the area reported that a taxi was on fire.
A bystander on the scene said one taxi was burnt and apparently two people sustained gunshot wounds and were transported to hospital. It is not clear who was shot in the incident.
The bystander believed that one person had been arrested.
A Noordwyk resident, who was travelling in the area, said, “There is a different atmosphere here than there was this morning. There are helicopters and there is a fire. [Also] a lot more police presence.”
In October last year, a dispute among taxi owners lead to a shootout on Old Pretoria Road in Midrand where a passerby was shot dead.
Journalist Thandi Ntobela is making her way to the scene and updates with official comment will follow.
