THE people of Driefontein, near Carletonville on the West Rand, have vowed to take control of their area after Saturday night's shooting at a tavern, which left three people dead and several injured.

Yesterday, scores of people gathered in the township as the reality of the tragedy sank in. About five shacks had reportedly been torched in the aftermath of the shooting.

Councillor Vusi Mcunana from Merafong local municipality admitted that the level of crime in the area was high. "There are no street lights and the area is very dark so criminals do as they please. The crime rate here is very high.

"Almost every weekend you hear of someone being murdered and that's unacceptable. The people are asking for a mobile police station and we'll see what we can do. We'll engage (Gauteng MEC for community safety) Faith Mazibuko and I don't think it will be a problem," Mcunana said.

On Saturday night, a group of men went to a local tavern where they allegedly shot patrons at random. One of the witnesses, Orlando Mathe, recounted how the experience shook him to the core.

"We had just finished watching a football match on TV when a group of people, some wearing balaclavas, arrived at the tavern. They came in three Toyota Sprinters and a Quantum and without asking any questions, they started shooting. I have never seen anything like that."

Mathe added that an old dispute could have resulted in the bloodshed. "What happened was that a leader of the one group was known to have once insulted the other group. As a result the other group retaliated with violence and this has been going on for some time.

"What happened was a continuation of years of fighting between the two groups," he speculated.