Taxi shooting: Western Cape police investigate third incident in a week

Western Cape police are searching for the suspects in a Manenberg taxi-related shooting, which took place on Saturday, 12 June 2021.

The shooting is the third in the province in the past week, following one in Delft and another in Ceres.

Manenberg police are investigating cases of murder and attempted murder after an incident early on Saturday, said police spokesperson Warrant Officer Joseph Swartbooi.

“According to reports, three unknown males fired numerous gunshots at taxis parked on the corners of Duinefontien and The Downs roads in Manenberg. A 51-year-old man was declared deceased on the scene, while three other males were rushed to a nearby hospital for medical treatment,” he said.

A 53-year-old man later succumbed to his injuries. Suspects were yet to be arrested, Swartbooi added.

In Delft, a taxi driver was shot in the Leiden area by three gunmen, according to EWN.

The 31-year-old man was shot in front of a home in Gamka Street in the early hours of Saturday. The suspects fled the scene in the victim’s vehicle, said Swartbooi.

Police are investigating a case of murder and carjacking, he added.

On Tuesday, a deadly shooting at a taxi rank in the Boland town of Ceres, left five people dead. Four people died on the scene, while a seriously injured victim had been rushed to a nearby hospital, where he later died, police spokesperson Brigadier Novela Potelwa previously told News24.

The casualties are all believed to be members of the Cape Amalgamated Taxi Association (Cata), with the motive behind the shooting suspected to be related to a dispute over routes.

The Ceres shooting brought the total number of taxi-related murders in the Western Cape to 45 since the start of the calendar year, with attempted murders and injuries at 19 over the same period, Western Cape Transport and Public Works MEC, Daylin Mitchell said.

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