Athlone Shootings Claim Two Lives, Men Killed Near Magistrate’s Court Within Minutes of Each Other
- Two men were shot dead in two separate shooting incidents in Athlone, Cape Town, on 3 December 2025
- Police have launched a full-scale investigation into the shooting, which occurred near the Magistrate's Court
- The area outside the Athlone Magistrate's court has been the scene of several shootings in the past year
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Briefly News journalist Byron Pillay has dedicated a decade to reporting on the South African political landscape, crime, and social issues. He spent 10 years working for the Northern Natal Courier before transitioning to online journalism.
WESTERN CAPE – Two people have been tragically killed in two shootings in Athlone, Cape Town.
The two shootings happened minutes after each other near the Athlone Magistrate’s Court on 3 December 2025. The shootings come three months after another man was shot dead outside the same court.
Athlone rocked by two fatal shootings
According to police spokesperson FC van Wyk, a 32-year-old man was fatally wounded outside the court, while he was sitting inside a vehicle. It is unclear at this stage whether he was just in the vicinity or was preparing to leave the court area.
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Minutes later, another male was shot dead a few metres away. The 31-year-old was shot dead about 300 metres away from the court. Police are unable to confirm the motive for the murder as yet, but have launched a full-scale investigation into the shooting.
“Anyone with information about these shooting incidents is kindly requested to contact Crime Stop on 08600 10111,” van Wyk urged.
People were murdered outside the Athlone court
The shooting comes three months after another man was shot dead as he was leaving the court premises. The shooting fuelled fears that there would be more revenge killings to come. Following the murder, another man and woman were wounded in a separate shooting in another part of Athlone.
Police were able to effect an arrest less than a week later after they identified a suspect, thanks to CCTV footage from the court. In February 2025, a 43-year-old man was also shot and killed outside the court.
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Nine-year-old wounded in Athlone shooting
Like many areas in the Cape, gun violence continues to affect many innocent bystanders, including children.
On 20 November 2025, a nine-year-old boy was caught in the crossfire of a shooting in Athlone. An adult male was also shot and wounded after an unknown suspect opened fire on him. The youngster was then hit by one of the bullets.
Other court shootings in 2025
Briefly News reported that there have been several fatal shootings at courts in other parts of the country.
- In January 2025, a man was shot dead in broad daylight at the Lenasia Magistrate's Court.
- Five people were arrested for the April 2025 murder of a man at the Wynberg Magistrate's Court.
- In August 2025, two men were shot outside the Mitchell's Plain Magistrate's Court, resulting in one of them dying.
Source: Briefly News
