By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The SA Police Services (SAPS) in Kwazulu-Natal (KZN) has confirmed that two people have been shot dead and seven others wounded in a mass shooting on Hime Street in Wentworth, Durban.
According to KZN provincial police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said, the shooting unfolded on Major Calvert Street when a group of young people were seated outside a flat, shortly after 9am.
Netshiunda said, a grey Mazda 3 pulled up before two armed men stepped out and opened fire.
While the motive remains unclear, police says gang or drug-related turf wars may be behind the shooting.
“The motive of the killing is unknown; however, gang and drug-related turf wars cannot be ruled out,” Netshiunda said.
Community activist André de Bruin visited the scene and believes the attack is drug related.
He said residents are deeply traumatised.
“I can only imagine the trauma that they are going through. You just see people holding both their hands over their ears; nobody wants to talk. Everybody is looking dazed, I feel for them.”
The latest shooting adds to a troubling pattern of violence in Wentworth over recent years.
In 2023, Craig Cochrane, 55, was killed by a stray bullet while watching television in his lounge.
That same year, two other men, including 17-year-old Leyton Fynn, were shot dead in broad daylight, while a 14-year-old boy was wounded on Major Calvert Road.