Three killed, one injured in alleged hit

by | Feb 29, 2024

Chaotic scenes in Braamfontein as two men are fatally shot, another hit by a stray bullet and one is rushed to hospital.

The corner of Jorissen and Bertha streets became a crime scene on February 29, 2024, as an alleged ‘hit’ took place on the busy intersection filled with students and other passersby.

Two men were allegedly targeted while stray bullets hit two University of Johannesburg (UJ) students, one died on the scene and the other was rushed to the hospital for treatment. The students were on a bus believed to be travelling from UJ to Nukerk Student Accommodation in Hillbrow.

The two dead men, believed to be taxi owners, are moved from the BMW they were sitting in when shot at. Photo: Sfundo Parakozov

SAPS crime scene manager, Captain Vincent Saunders said: “What we know is two people were shot, these two people are taxi owners. The bus was passing by with students who accidentally got shot as the bullets crossed.” In videos shared on social media, students can be heard screaming and crying moments after the two students were hit.

Speaking to Wits Vuvuzela shortly after the incident UJ spokesperson, Herman Esterhuizen said “at this stage everything is quite chaotic,” as the university gathered more information.

In a short statement issued on Thursday evening, the university confirmed the tragic death of an “18-year-old male, [who] was a second-year student,” and the recovery of another. Students who were on the bus have been encouraged to seek out counselling services offered internally.

Eyewitnesses say they heard five gunshots in quick succession before assailants ran off and jumped into a getaway car. By the time Wits Vuvuzela got to the scene, the intersection was being cordoned off and and the three lifeless bodies had been covered with repatriation foil.

Family members of one of the deceased did not want to comment but said answers on what may have happened could be found if Wits Vuvuzela contacted Faraday Taxi Association. Calls to the association went unanswered.

FEATURED IMAGE: The body of one of the students caught in the crossfire is carried into a forensic pathology van. The student is yet to be identified. Photo: Sfundo Parakozov

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