Shooting at Retreat station leaves one dead

Taxi services were brought to halt at Retreat station last week when four men were shot on the corner of Station Road and Joe Marks Boulevard.

Police found the lifeless body of a man in his 30s with a gunshot wound to his head and three others injured in the shooting on Thursday August 17 at about 9am.

Provincial police spokesperson Frederick van Wyk confirmed the incident and said the three men were taken to a nearby medical facility for treatment – the suspect fled the scene and no one has yet been arrested.

“We have registered a case of murder and three attempted murder cases for investigation

“Circumstances surrounding this shooting incident are under investigation. The motive for this incident is possibly taxi related.”

Commuters at the station at the time were concerned that the taxi strike, where South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) drivers stopped operations earlier this month, had restarted but taxi officials said this was not the case and they paused their services to respect the investigation by law enforcement and the victims and their families.

The road was closed for most of the morning and drivers had to use alternative routes while commuters had to use alternative transport.

A family member of the man killed at the station, who chose to stay anonymous, told Southern Mail that they received the call that he had been shot just after 9am and made their way to the station but didn’t know why he was shot.

A source, who spoke to Southern Mail anonymously, said the altercation stems from a previous incident between Cape Town route operators and others outside the taxi industry that ended up spilling over at the station in the morning.

Anyone with any information about the shooting incident can contact the investigating officer Detective Sergeant Okkers on 083 234 0489 or Crime Stop on 08600 10111.