Durban - Umlazi police have launched a manhunt after a 32-year-old man was shot and killed in a drive-by shooting incident on Sunday afternoon.
The man was driving his white car on Vusi Mtshali Drive in M section when a white Toyota Fortuner pretended to be overtaking when the occupants started shooting randomly at the car. The victim's car veered to the side of the road.
The motorist was found dead in the driver's seat.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Nqobile Gwala said a case of murder had been opened for investigation, and police have started investigating the matter.
She said it was not still clear what could have led to the shooting.
Residents living along the road who witnessed the shooting said after hearing gunshots, they went out to check and saw a white Toyota Fortuner shooting randomly at the victim's car and fled the scene afterwards.
The victim, whose status or his work is still unknown, appeared to be driving home to the AA section where he was said to be from. He was less than two kilometres from his home.
According to a witness who spoke on condition of anonymity, she said it looked like the attackers had been following the victim from far and waited for a steep hill before attacking him, saying it could be hit since nothing was taken from the victim.
“We saw people shooting randomly at the white car while in their car, but no one came out to open the victim's car, so we did not think the intention was to rob him of hijacking since the attackers soon left after ensuring he was dead,” said the resident.
The township has been in the news for soaring violent crime levels after it was declared the country's murder capital for two consecutive years by police's crime statistics. This has prompted locals to be more vigilant as they have started reviving community policing forums.
Locals are now camping and patrolling the streets every night to protect those coming or going to work during darkness.
The provincial government and Police Minister Bheki Cele have held two crime summits in trying to come up with strategies to reduce crime in the province, but the violent crime appears to be persisting, and killings continue.
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