Synonymous with travellers to different parts of the country, particularly the Eastern Cape, Joe Gqabi resembled a battlefield last week when a bus driver was shot dead by an unknown man.
Provincial police spokesperson Sgt Wesley Twigg confirmed the shooting.
A 39-year-old man was shot and fatally wounded on Friday 3 May, he added. Circumstances surrounding the murder are under investigation.
The motive is unknown.
“According to reports, the victim was waiting for the bus to fill up, and when he exited the bus, he was approached by armed suspects who shot him. The victim sustained gunshot wounds to his body and was declared deceased on the scene by medical personnel,” explained Twigg.
The suspects fled the scene, he elaborated.
One of the residents, who did not want to be named for fear of harassment, said she was at the terminus when the incident occurred.
However, she could not confirm which bus the deceased was driving. “We were outside the yard of the terminus and we were about to leave. We heard several gunshots inside the terminus and we saw people running in different directions. We also drove away,” she said.
The witness added that according to the information, the driver just came out of the bus when he was accosted by unknown men who shot him.
“I never heard of such an incident happening at Joe Gqabi. We are not safe in the townships at all. If the criminals can go and shoot people in places like bus terminus, that means they are not scared of anyone,” she said, adding that places like taxi ranks and bus terminus are regarded as safer places for commuters. She urged the government to deploy more officers in the townships.
- Anyone with any information about this shooting incident can contact Crime Stop on 08600 10111.