WATCH | Bullets shot into the air in front of police as 'taxi boss' mourned in Joburg

Gunshots rang out near the Eastgate Shopping Mall in Johannesburg as a group of mourners discharged countless rounds of ammunition - right in front of metro police officers.

The shooting came during "rituals" for the murder of one of two men killed at the weekend. Police believe that taxi violence was the reason for the shooting.

Footage of Wednesday's shooting went viral.

In the video, cars - including those from the Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) and one from a funeral parlour - can be seen parked on the side of the road. Other passing motorists who are not part of the entourage are also seen on the video.

Near a robot at an intersection, several men are seen carrying firearms, while sporadic gunfire rings amid the sirens of the JMPD.

Metro police spokesperson Chief Superintend Wayne Minnaar said that two JMPD patrol vehicles blocked off traffic lanes at Allum Road and Cumberland Street, near Eastgate, for a cleansing ceremony just before 1pm.

Minnaar confirmed that the ceremony was held by the family of a taxi owner who was killed.

“Other taxi drivers started firing shots into the air. These drivers were attending the cultural ritual. No arrests were made and the JMPD does not condone the shooting,” he said.

SAPS spokesperson Captain Mavela Masondo told TimesLIVE that the family of the deceased man had gone to that specific location to perform rituals following Sunday's shooting.

"They [family] went to perform their rituals in that place and then they started shooting randomly," he said.

He said police officers were not on the scene at the time of the shootings.

A case of discharging a firearm in a public space had been opened.

The deceased was one of two men who was reportedly killed during what police believed to be a taxi-related shooting in Bedfordview on Sunday. The shootout occurred between motorists travelling in Mercedes-Benzes.

One other person was injured in the shooting.