The Soshanguve shooting left four people dead and eight others injured early Saturday morning.
Authorities found four people dead with gunshot wounds and their bodies partially burned. It happened at the Marry Me informal settlement extension 3 in Soshanguve early Saturday morning, authorities said.
Police spokesperson Brig. Brenda Muridili said officers responded to the scene around 6 a.m. after receiving reports from the community. Witnesses at the scene told the police that they had already taken additional victims to nearby hospitals.
“Preliminary investigations suggest that around 3 a.m., a group of community patrollers gathered to begin their rounds. Then they encountered five people walking on the street. A confrontation ensued, leading to a violent altercation that left four people dead and eight others injured,” Muridili said in a statement.
The motive for the attack remains under investigation.
Specialized units, including the provincial and district serious and violent crime investigation teams, as well as forensic experts, are on the scene. They are collecting evidence and interviewing witnesses. Soshanguve’s public order police units and local officers have also deployed to maintain calm in the area.
Third Mass Shooting in Gauteng This Week
The Soshanguve attack marks the third mass shooting in Gauteng this week. Raising renewed concerns over rising violence in the province.
On Thursday, armed suspects opened fire indiscriminately at a taxi rank in Doornfontein, within the Jeppe policing precinct. Paramedics declared four people dead at the scene, while they took three others, including a university student waiting for a bus, to the hospital with injuries. Authorities suspect that ongoing taxi industry conflicts may have prompted the shooting. The Provincial Taxi Violence Unit is handling the investigation.
Just a day earlier, on Wednesday, gunmen in a white BMW allegedly shot at bystanders at the Zonkizizwe taxi rank.
Gunmen killed three taxi drivers, and two passengers sustained injuries.
Investigators have not made any arrests in connection with these incidents.
