Johannesburg – Police have arrested one person following looting, malicious damage to property, and public violence in Jeppestown on Sunday, police said.
They were following leads and expecting to make more arrests soon, Brigadier Mathapelo Peters said on Monday.
"We cannot conclusively say these were xenophobic attacks because this happened on a Sunday evening as businesses were closed. Up until this morning, we were not sure yet about who the owners of the stores were. We are still waiting for them to come forward and open cases," she said.
On Sunday at around 21:30, about 100 Jeppe Hostel residents looted businesses and shops in the area. A car belonging to an unidentified company was set alight, and stones were thrown from the hostel.
#jeppestown heavy police presence after looting of foreign owned shops @Netwerk24Berig pic.twitter.com/8LqmrLDvoh
— Felixdlangamandla (@fdlangamandla) February 27, 2017
The violence was quelled in the early hours of Monday morning. Peters said public order policing and tactical response teams were monitoring the area.
The City of Johannesburg condemned the attacks and offered to deploy more law enforcement officers, if necessary.
"It must be understood that the assault, looting and damage to property associated with these alleged xenophobic crimes, is nothing but acts of thuggery," public safety MMC Michael Sun said.
He encouraged people to come forward if they knew of violence being planned.