Twenty-seven people have been killed in two mass shootings hours apart in South Africa, marking a continuation of gun violence in the country. Seventeen individuals were killed when eight gunmen attacked a bar near Johannesburg on Saturday evening, injuring 15 others. In a separate incident early Sunday morning, 10 people were killed outside an entertainment venue in a township near Cape Town, with an additional 11 injured.
South Africa has one of the highest murder rates globally and has faced challenges in controlling gang-related gun violence in recent years. Police have not disclosed a motive for either shooting. In Johannesburg, the assailants opened fire on patrons outside the bar before moving inside and setting two vehicles on fire as they escaped. The fatalities included 13 men and four women.
Deputy provincial police commissioner Maj Gen Fred Kekana suggested that the attack might have been a retaliation for a previous incident last month that resulted in one death and one injury, according to AFP news agency. He stated that police have clear images and some names of the suspects involved.
In Cape Town, five victims died at the scene of the shooting, while five others succumbed to their injuries in the hospital. No arrests had been reported in either case as of Sunday morning.
These two mass shootings occurred shortly after another incident in Durban, where 11 people were killed when gunmen invaded a house in the KwaMakhutha township. Armed security forces were deployed to the site of the mass shooting in Cape Town on Sunday morning.
The prevalence of illegal firearms in South Africa has contributed to ongoing gun violence, with approximately 60 murders occurring daily in a country of 62 million people. A recent increase in mass shootings has heightened concerns about the situation, often linked to gang turf wars involving drug trafficking and illegal mining.
In February, President Cyril Ramaphosa described organized crime as "the most immediate threat to our democracy, our society and our economic development." Earlier this year, the military was deployed alongside police in high-murder-rate areas to combat armed violence. On Saturday, a tenth woman's body was discovered in Ekurhuleni, east of Johannesburg, with local police stating they could not rule out the possibility of a serial killer operating in the area due to similarities in the cases.