______people died in the incident late Wednesday. [br] [originaltext] Polic

Police in South Africa have launched an intensive search for a white gunman who shot and killed 3 blacks in a crowded commuter bus in Pretoria. Southern Africa correspondent Alex Bhida reports the attack appears to have been racially motivated. The banner headline on the front-page of one leading Southern African newspaper Thursday called it a rampage of hate. Police say a so far unidentified white man boarded a crowded commuter bus in Pretoria late Wednesday and started firing. The black bus driver and two black passengers were killed, 4 other black passengers were wounded, one critically. The gunman is reported to have escaped on a motorbike parking near the scene of the shooting. Police say they are following several leads and Security Minister Steve (unclear) is predicting an arrest is eminent. President Thabo Mbeki has expressed outrage and shock over the incident, but Mr. Mbeki has also appealed for calm and urged members of the Republic not to take the law into their own hands. Analysts view the killing as a sign of bitter racial divisions that remain in South Africa more than 5 years after the formal end of white minority rule and the Apartheid policy of racial separation. In another incident with racial overtones, a disgruntled black officer in South Africa’ s army last September shot and killed 8 white colleagues at a military base outside Bloemfontein. Alex Blida, VOA news, Johannesburg.