Four shot dead in Katlehong as Gauteng committee demands illegal guns off the streets
The victims were returning from a memorial service when a man opened fire, and the alleged shooter has handed himself to police ahead of a Palm Ridge court appearance.
Four people were killed and three others injured when a man opened fire on a group in Katlehong, Ekurhuleni, earlier this week. According to police, the victims were coming from a memorial service for a member of a political party when the shooting happened.
The Gauteng Provincial Legislature’s Portfolio Committee on Community Safety has responded with a call for “urgent and decisive action” against illegal firearms, saying the deaths reinforce its demand for a gun-free Gauteng where no family has to bury a loved one because of gun violence.
The committee described the loss of four lives in a single shooting as a “painful reminder of the devastating consequences of the unchecked proliferation and misuse of guns”. It said the victims were young people whose futures had been cut short, and that they could have become professionals, community leaders and entrepreneurs. Instead, it said, their families and communities are left to mourn lives that should never have been lost.
The alleged assailant handed himself over to police and was expected to appear in the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court on Thursday.
The committee said it acknowledged the surrender but still wants a thorough investigation to establish the circumstances of the shooting and to hold those responsible accountable. It also asked the investigation to establish whether the gun used was legally owned and how it came into the suspect’s possession.
Its wider position is that achieving a gun-free province requires stronger enforcement against illegal firearms, effective firearm control, intelligence-driven policing and active cooperation between law enforcement agencies and communities. It said guns have no place in the hands of individuals who use them to terrorise communities and settle disputes through violence, and that their continued presence on the streets is a direct threat to residents’ safety.
Residents were urged to report the illegal possession and use of guns to police and to refrain from taking the law into their own hands.
Condolences were extended to the families and friends of the victims. The committee said the province cannot afford to normalise the killing of its people, and that all sectors of society must work together to get firearms out of the wrong hands so that residents can live, work and take part in democratic processes without fear of being shot.
This account is drawn from the SAnews (South African Government News Agency) report of the committee’s statement, published on 15 October 2026 at https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/katlehong-shooting-gauteng-community-safety-committee-calls-gun-free-province. SAnews is a government news agency and its report summarises the committee’s statement rather than reproducing the full record.
