Residents who are angry at the high cost of basic services, barricaded roads with burning tyres and set ablaze a municipal building in Thembisa township northeast of the financial hub Johannesburg.
A spokeswoman for the Independent Police Investigative Directorate watchdog earlier said it had recorded a case of shooting by a member of the police, noting that investigations are underway.
Protests over poor services occur regularly in South Africa, which is battling some of the highest unemployment and crime rates in the world.
The latest of protests came after former president THABO MBEKI warned the country could see an uprising similar to the Arab Spring, triggered by mounting discontent.
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