Police believe that a man shot dead on a Cape Town beach on Monday morning was driving a stolen car.

The body of the the 26-year-old man was was found near the vehicle, which was stuck in the sand at Blue Waters Beach in Strandfontein. Police said on Tuesday that the car had been reported stolen.

The motive for the killing has not yet been established, provincial police spokesperson Captain FC Van Wyk said.

“This office can confirm that it was discovered that the vehicle found on the scene was stolen in Woodstock. The investigation continues,” he said.

No arrests have been made.

Mitchells Plain Cluster Community Police Forum chairperson Hanif Loonat said he had“reliable information” that the dead man was a known gangster from Strandfontein.

“I have been informed that the man was seen driving around in the stolen Mercedes in Bayview on Sunday,” he told News24.

“He apparently had a passenger in the car when he robbed a resident that day. The police are following up on this information.”

Loonat said the possibility of this being a revenge attack has not been ruled out.

According to locals, this stretch of the False Bay coast is notorious for crime. News24