South Afrca - Three men arrested in Thokoza for shooting at crowd

Police patrol parts of Johannesburg which continue to be under siege from looters targeting foreign owned shops. (Felix Dlangamandla, Netwerk24)

Police have arrested three men after they allegedly opened fire on a large crowd of demonstrators in Thokoza, east of Johannesburg, on Wednesday, as the township was gripped by a wave of xenophobic violence.

The three men, aged between 27 and 40, were arrested by members of the police's flying squad unit.

Police spokesperson Captain Vuyisile Mvelase said flying squad members were part of the police contingent deployed in Thokoza to deal with rampant looting of shops in the area.

"They were patrolling the area when they heard gunshots being fired. They then went to the area where the shots were fired and found cartridges on the ground.

"They then received information that people who had allegedly opened fire at a crowd of protesters were driving in two separate white sedans," said Mvelase.

Police managed to track down the two vehicles - a white Nissan Tida and a white Honda Jazz.

"Inside the vehicles, police found two unlicensed firearms with ammunition, and arrested the suspects.