Divine Lunga, a 31-year-old professional soccer player from Zimbabwe, was driving through Johannesburg on Sunday when gunmen fired at his car. He was not hurt, and he drove away safely BBC.

Lunga plays as a full-back—a defensive position—for Mamelodi Sundowns, one of South Africa's top soccer teams. He also plays for Zimbabwe's national team. Police have opened an attempted murder case, but no one has been arrested yet, according to a South African Police Service spokesperson BBC.

The shooting happened in Hillbrow, an inner-city area of Johannesburg. According to reporting cited by the BBC, Lunga was heading to church with his younger brother when the attack occurred. A local news outlet reported that the shooter may have mistaken Lunga for an undercover police officer. South African police have not confirmed this account themselves; the investigation is still ongoing BBC.

Hillbrow has had a serious crime problem for many years. After apartheid ended in South Africa—a system that legally separated people by race—many wealthier residents moved away from inner cities, leaving those areas with less investment and funding. This urban decline contributed to high crime rates in neighborhoods like Hillbrow. Cases where someone is shot after being mistaken for an undercover officer do happen in South Africa, though they are not routine.

Why this matters: Lunga is a well-known athlete, both in South Africa and in Zimbabwe, so this incident has drawn attention beyond typical local crime reporting. His situation reflects a real concern for foreign players and high-profile people living in South Africa's major cities. Johannesburg and the surrounding Gauteng province have some of the highest rates of violent crime in South Africa. For clubs like Sundowns, which hire many players from neighboring countries, keeping players safe in busy urban areas is an ongoing worry.

Police have not released details about who the shooter is or why they fired. No timeline has been given for when the investigation will be finished. Mamelodi Sundowns and Zimbabwe's Football Association have not made public statements about the incident yet. As the investigation develops, statements from the club, the national team, or police could provide more answers.