By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Five people were killed when at least three gunmen stormed two vehicle workshops in Mariannhill, on the outskirts of Pinetown in KwaZulu-Natal.
According to police, the men shot the owner and two others at one of the workshops. The owner and one person died on the scene while the third person was rushed to hospital.
The gunmen proceeded to the second workshop, where they shot and killed its owner and two others.
“Although the motive of the killings is yet to be established, nothing was reported robbed or stolen during the shooting,” police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said in a statement.
Three of the victims are in their 50s, and the other two are reported to be in their late 30s.
Seven people were killed in a mass shooting in Mariannhill in July laste year when a group of men stormed a tuckshop and opened fire at patrons.
Police Minister Bheki Cele has called on communities to work with the South African Police Service (SAPS) to curb crime in the country.
Communities joining forces with the South African Police Service (SAPS), he said, “would eventually realise the vision of having violent crimes in the country resolved in the prescribed times”.
Cele said while government agrees that there is a need to clamp down on illegal firearms, police had made progress in this regard.
“At least 65 952 illegal firearms have been destroyed in the previous year. We will continue to hunt these guns. We will continue to strengthen the law [so] that people [are] safe,” he said.