2 killed, 17 wounded in shootings

ELEVEN people were wounded in a shooting in Johannesburg yesterday, just hours after a shooting at Poppy’s Restaurant in Melville that claimed two lives, the provincial government confirmed.

“The Gauteng government strongly condemns the shooting incidents which took place in the early hours of New Year’s Day at two different locations,” said Gauteng acting premier Panyaza Lesufi.

“At about 3am, gunshots were fired at Mary Fitzgerald Square; 11 people were wounded and rushed to hospital. According to paramedics, four males were seriously injured,” said Lesufi.

That shooting was preceded by another just before 2am, where shots were fired from a black BMW X3 at people sitting on the verandah of Poppy’s Restaurant, he said.

In that incident, two women were shot dead.

Six others were wounded and rushed to hospital, two of them critical.

“As the province we are saddened by this barbaric act.

“New Year’s Day is a day of hope and celebration, a day where people plan their lives for the better,” said Lesufi.

He said preliminary investigations into the Mary Fitzgerald Square incident found that the shooter fired several shots from the upper level of the M2 (south bound) double-decker bridge and targeted the VIP area.

“I have all the trust in our police that the perpetrators will be brought to book.

“We are determined as the province to halve crime by 2030. This incident will not deter us in achieving this vision,” said Lesufi.

No arrests have been made. |