Johannesburg – Forty-five people have been arrested for public violence, housebreaking, and possession of unlicensed firearms in Diepsloot, north of Johannesburg, police said on Tuesday.

“Thirty-eight suspects were arrested for public violence, four for possession of unlicensed firearms, and three for housebreaking and theft,” police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Lungelo Dlamini said.

They were arrested on Monday evening and were expected to appear in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.

The violence started on Sunday evening when a Somali man, aged 39, allegedly shot and killed two Zimbabwean men outside his shop after an argument.

The man was arrested and was due to appear in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday on charges of murder and attempted murder.

“It is alleged that the community gathered in front of the Somali’s shop after the shooting incident, threw stones, and started looting,” Dlamini said.

A number of shops in the Extension Six area were looted.

Several shop owners voluntarily removed their goods and locked their shops.

On Sunday evening, nine people had been arrested for public violence and the possession of suspected stolen goods.

“[On Monday] there were several people who gathered at the scene where the shooting occurred, but it is believed most of them were onlookers,” Dlamini said.

More arrests could be expected as operations continued.

– SAPA