Two men were shot and wounded outside the Durban Magistrate’s Court building on Wednesday morning in what is alleged to be a gang related incident.
The police closed off the Durban Magistrate’s Court building in order to conduct investigations following the shooting.
While the details are still sketchy, it is alleged a suspect who was appearing in court on Wednesday morning, was the targeted person. He was shot and wounded as he was making his way out of court, and even after he ran back inside court he was still shot.
Blood stains stretched from the court entrance to the information desk on the second floor of the court. Two people are believed to have been injured in the incident.
The second person, believed to be a court employee, was injured after being caught in the crossfire.
According to several witnesses, a group of people were walking along Somtseu Road after alighting from their public transport of private motor vehicle. The group was walking near street vendors who sat near the court precinct entrance.
It is alleged that a vehicle had stopped on the road. Witnesses said they weren’t sure how many occupants got out of the vehicle, but gunshots went off and people started screaming.
One witness sitting on the verge outside the court told Daily News that everyone ran for cover. Many people got down on the floor while others reportedly ran for cover in the court building entrance.
Source: Eyewitness News, IOL, Sowetan Live, The Citizen, image from Sowetan Live: Andreas Mathios