There was chaos at Beitbridge Border Post on Friday night after a trigger happy soldier opened fire at a passing vehicle. Members of the public and border officials were forced to scurry for cover in fear of their lives as some reports say that the soldier just opened fire without regard for people who were nearby.

According to the standard, the soldier who has only been identified as Gwaze fired his AK-47 assault rifle at a vehicle which was exiting via the northbound gate.

A policeman who spoke to The Standard said, “We took cover as he shot oblivious of the danger posed to people in the direction of the car he was firing at. He must have fired seven times with the last two as he emerged from the VID gate shouting ‘stop him’ to surprised policemen manning the gate. One policeman fired two shots towards the car which had driven past.”

The vehicle in question had been cleared by the Customs and Excise Department and authorised to leave. At the time of publishing, the Police and the Zimbabwe National Army were yet to comment on the matter.