Nine people have been taken in for questioning after a shooting that claimed a man’s life at Port Elizabeth’s New Brighton railway station on Wednesday, police said.
Spokesperson Captain Verna Brink said police are seeking to establish whether the shooting is related to the ongoing strike by security guards.
”Most people think the incident is related to the strike, but we are not too sure. We want to clarify what led to the incident.”
The man was killed in a shooting between security guards on duty at the station and gunmen on the train, which was travelling from Uitenhage to Port Elizabeth.
Five people were wounded and another injured was when he jumped from the train. All were taken to a local hospital for treatment.
Police seized eight firearms, Brink said.
The incident took place when a group of people tried to throw a man from the moving train. The man finally jumped out to evade his assailants.
The train came to a stop to allow the police investigation to proceed. Other trains were running smoothly, Brink said.
Security guards have been on strike since March 23 this year in industrial action that has been marred by violence.
At least eight people have so far been killed and several others injured, some of them critically, when they were thrown out of moving trains in Gauteng.
The victims include security guards believed to have been the targets of striking colleagues. — Sapa