Three people have been arrested in connection with the murder of a social worker who was killed during an attempted hijacking in Alexandra in northern Johannesburg.

Bianca Warburton was gunned down as she was driving out of Alexandra Clinic by men who were trying to steal her car on Wednesday.

The suspects shot her in the upper body through her vehicle's car window as she was pulling out of the facility.

The 24-year-old drove a few meters before dying behind the wheel.

"This morning, around half past two, the police got a tip-off about the suspect who killed the lady on the corner of First Street and London Road on Wednesday.

"They found the suspect in possession of an unlicensed firearm," said the police's Moses Maphakela.