Calm restored in Cape Town after shooting at taxi rank

Calm has been restored at the taxi rank on the Cape Town Station deck, next to Grand Central shopping centre after shooting broke out on Wednesday morning.

There were fears that the ongoing violent protests in some parts of the country would flare to the Western Cape but the city has given its assurance that the situation is now normal following Wednesday’s shooting in the city.

The Western Cape government has put out a safety readiness plan should violent unrest taking place in other parts of South Africa spill over into the province.

Police said an argument broke out between disgruntled drivers of rival associations on Wednesday morning at 10.10am at the Cape Town taxi rank.

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“According to reports the commuters became fearful and fled in different directions,” the police said in a statement.

This resulted in a crowd of people in the vicinity running into Grand Central Mall, which then sparked fears of looting.

Shop owners closed their doors and law enforcement officers moved the crowd from the mall.

The city said no damage to property was reported.

Police said that “gunshots were allegedly discharged by occupants of a white Quantum who fled the scene”.

“Police members attended to the scene and we confirm that we maintain visibility in the vicinity to maintain law and order. The suspects are yet to be arrested.”

There have been reports of unrests in parts of Cape Town but Western Cape Premier Alan Winde and community safety MEC Albert Fritz dismissed the reports as fake news.

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Fritz and Winde on Tuesday raised their concerns and warned against the spreading of fake news. They called on residents to refrain from spreading disinformation.

Fritz said the province was ready to tackle any violence or illegal protest action which may flare up, adding that they were also looking into prosecuting those responsible for disseminating fake news

“We will ensure that the Western Cape remains a place of safety for all,” he said.