Police are searching for criminals who killed two people sitting in a car on Friday night. The violent incident happened on city streets in Middelburg, South Africa when gunmen rushed up and started shooting through the car windows.

The two victims inside, both adult men, were hit by many bullets. Their ages were around 37 to 40 years old. Both died there in the car, bleeding from the sudden attack.

Authorities say a silver VW Polo car chased down the green Toyota Corolla that the victims rode inside. At least one gunman got out and fired repeatedly into the trapped car to kill them.

Detectives believe this was likely a planned, on-purpose attack to hurt those specific men. It was not a random crazy shooting. The killers knew who and where to find their targets.

But police still have no leads on exactly why the gunmen committed the murders or who sent them to do it.

The top SAPS police commander for the province spoke against violence. General Semakaleng Manamela said these awful killings “tear communities apart.”

Detectives ask anyone who knows about the victims and their enemies to contact the police secretly. Or people can call the CrimeStop hotline 08600-10111. Helping find the evil gunmen can help prevent future deaths.