One killed as taxi drivers exchange gunfire in Pietermaritzburg

A man has been killed and another injured as rival taxi associations clashed over routes at a rank near the Brookside Mall in Pietermaritzburg on Friday morning.

Automatic gunfire cracked through the air as riflemen‚ understood to be from taxi associations in Howick and the provincial capital‚ traded salvos.

A man who witnessed the shooting‚ and spoke to TimesLIVE on condition of anonymity‚ said that he had been passing the taxi rank when he saw the violence unfold.

“There were NR taxis [from Howick] which had lined up on the on-ramp and men with rifles were just firing into the rank. There was just automatic gunfire everywhere‚” he said.

Paramedics had rushed to the scene‚ and provided initial reports that one man had been shot and killed and another wounded. One taxi‚ understood to be from Howick‚ had been set ablaze.

Police spokespeople were not available for comment at the time of publishing.

This is a developing story.