Times LIVE is on the scene, see all the pictures by Pericles Anetos here:
A busy through route west of Johannesburg was a no-go zone on Wednesday as residents Zandspruit informal settlement protested for a second day against illegal electricity connections being removed.
"They looted the shop at the garage and damaged the ATM. They then burned the shop," Lieutenant Kay Makhubela said on Wednesday.
The Total garage on Peter Road opposite Zandspruit was vandalised at approximately 20h25 last night. About four men entered the retail centre that includes a Nedbank and a Pep. They stormed the Bonjour shop.
Nipho Mtsweni‚ who had just finished buying airtime at the shop‚ said that they initially smashed the window of a taxi. Then they followed by breaking down the door to the store.
Mtsweni‚ who works nearby‚ said that looters first raided the store of cigarettes. They were then joined by more looters who started a fire by the cash register.
They also ripped an ATM out of its socket in the wall.
The looters also made off with a Lotto machine‚ which they dismantled on the road outside Zandspruit settlement.
Some of the staff barricaded themselves inside the toilet of the shop while others fled. They were only able to escape when one of the workers brought a hosepipe inside to extinguish the fire that was ranging at the counter of the store.
Witness Tshepo Moeketsi said that shots were fired in the vicinity this morning and hit a taxi that was parked there.
A heavy police presence was on the scene today as authorities tried to bring calm to the area. Teargas and rubber bullets were fired to disperse the protesters.
Police spokesman Lieutenant Kay Makhubela said from the scene earlier today that protesters had barricaded the road with burning tyres.
The City of Johannesburg advised motorists to avoid Beyers Naude Drive in the area around Zandspruit.
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