Nine killed and ten injured in Gauteng mass shooting

Nine people were killed and 10 wounded in an early morning shooting in a township south-west of Johannesburg, and authorities have launched a manhunt for the suspects, the South African Police Service said on Sunday.

The incident occurred just before 1 a.m. local time at a licensed tavern in Johannesburg’s Bekkersdal township, the police said in a statement.

About 12 unknown suspects in a white minibus and a silver sedan opened fire at the tavern’s patrons and continued shooting randomly as they fled the scene, the police said, adding that the motive for the shooting would be determined by the investigation.

The injured have been taken to medical facilities for treatment, police added.

Bekkersdal is part of the Rand West City local municipality, whose website describes the township as being an area characterised by high levels of unemployment and poverty due to a decline in gold mining.

This comes just over two weeks after a mass shooting took place at an illegal bar in Saulsville township, Gauteng, which left 11 dead and 14 injured.

Three minors were among the deceased, including 3- and 12-year-old boys and a 16-year-old female, according to police.

The province also witnessed two other mass shootings in October.

The first incident took place in Zithobeni, Bronkhorstspruit, in which five people were killed and another six were injured.

In this case, two men allegedly walked into a tavern demanding a licensed firearm from one of the patrons. Witnesses said a shot went off, after which the perpetrators fired randomly into the crowd.

The person carrying the licensed firearm that the shooters were after was shot and his firearm was taken. He survived and has been charged with the negligent handling of his weapon.

Since the incident, five counts of murder and six counts of attempted murder have been registered by the Provincial Murder and Robbery Unit.

The second incident involved seven teenagers aged between 14 and 19 being shot at in Westbury, Gauteng, in what was believed to be a gang-related incident.

The seven victims were rushed to hospital, where two were declared dead on arrival, while five are receiving medical treatment.

The South African Police Service (SAPS) stated that the teenagers were approached on foot by four suspects, three of whom were armed with sidearms.

While briefing the media on Gauteng’s fourth-quarter crime statistics for the 2024/25 year in June, provincial police commissioner Lieutenant-General Tommy Mthombeni stated that murders in the province had decreased by 10.8%.

However, he said Gauteng still faced “a challenge with multiple shootings”, adding that most murders in the province were committed in public spaces.

“These multiple murders have contributed 75 dockets with 191 victims to the province’s murder rate,” he said.

Reporting with Reuters.