Johannesburg - A man was shot, another one was stoned and the third slipped and fell when the three were trying to escape from a mob that was stoning them at a church in Zuurbekom, Randfontein.

The incident is alleged to have happened just before 8 am on Thursday morning.

Shawn Herbst of Netcare 911 said the three were trying to escape in their vehicles when people started throwing rocks at them. He said one man was injured by the rock-throwers, one was shot in the shoulder and the third man tripped and injured himself while running for safety.

"All three have been transported to hospital by another private ambulance. All of them are in a stable condition," he said.

One of the damaged vehicles.

According to Herbst, witnesses at the scene said the chaos was due to a rivalry between two churches"but we can't confirm that because it's just speculation."

When police finally arrived at the scene, many cars had been damaged by rocks. Many were without windows and windscreens.

"According to witnesses it is alleged that members of the public are still being held hostage within the church, this is yet to be confirmed by the police," Herbst said.