By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
SA Police Services (SAPS) have launched a manhunt for suspects behind a drive-by shooting incident in Reiger Park, East of Johannesburg, which claimed the lives of six and left three injured.
The shooting occurred on Williams Road, in the evening, police said.
Gauteng police spokesperson Colonel Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi confirmed that the Acting Provincial Commissioner of SAPS in Gauteng, Major General Fred Kekana has mobilised resources following a drive-by shooting incident in Reiger Park, which claimed the lives of six people and left three injured.
“It is reported that in the afternoon of Saturday, November 01. 2025 two vehicles, a silver polo and a black polo came to this area and started shooting randomly.”
She said the circumstances of the shooting are not clear at this stage but investigations are underway and a manhunt has been launched for the suspects.
“The Acting Provincial Commissioner has appealed to the community of Reiger Park to allow law enforcement to do their job and work together with them by reporting any criminal activities on the Crime Stop Line at 08600 10111 anonymously give tip-offs on MySapsApp.”
More than 26,000 people were murdered in South Africa last year, South African police data shows. Almost 3,500 of those were in Cape Town.
Meanwhile in a crackdown against gang-related crime in the Western Cape, police have made substantial progress since April, arresting 722 individuals associated with organised crime and seizing more than 1,500 illegal firearms.
The efforts are part of a concerted initiative to dismantle gang activities in hotspot areas, a move highly praised by the National Commissioner of the South African Police Service (SAPS), General Fannie Masemola.
According to Masemola, the reallocation of police resources has proved fruitful, with nearly 1,000 officers deployed to key hotspots across the region on a daily basis. This includes 800 police officers from both SAPS and the City of Cape Town, supplemented by 182 additional officers from the Head Office.
This robust force operates under an extensive framework, which sees more than 9,000 officers stationed across 62 police precincts in Cape Town alone.
Our collaboration with other law enforcement agencies and community stakeholders has resulted in considerable inroads into disrupting organised gang-related activities. We have seen many successes, including arrests in notorious areas such as Mitchell’s Plain, Mfuleni, Delft, and Manenberg, Masemola stated.
The fight against drugs remains at the forefront of law enforcement’s objectives.
In total, over 54,947 suspects linked to drug-related offences have been apprehended since the beginning of the period, with 2,296 of those specifically charged with dealing in drugs. The operation has also seen a tragically high number of gang-related violence, with 96 murders and 60 attempted murders reported.
The police have intensified their efforts in firearm regulation, resulting in a staggering seizure of 1,565 firearms and 39,371 rounds of ammunition. These figures underline the ongoing threat posed by armed gangs and the critical need for decisive law enforcement actions.