JOHANNESBURG: At least nine people were killed and 10 others wounded early Sunday in a mass shooting at a tavern in the Bekkersdal township, southwest of Johannesburg, authorities said, and police launched a manhunt for the suspects involved.
The attack occurred just before 1 a.m. local time at the KwaNoxolo tavern in the Tambo section of Bekkersdal, where unknown gunmen opened fire on patrons and then continued to shoot randomly as they fled the scene, according to the South African Police Service.
Police said about a dozen unidentified suspects arrived in a white minibus and a silver sedan before opening fire inside the licensed tavern. Some victims were also struck by gunfire as they attempted to escape, officials said. Africanews
Provincial police commissioner Major General Fred Kekana told local media that the dead included passengers inside the venue and at least one e-hailing driver who had recently dropped off a customer and was shot while outside. South China Morning Post
The injured were taken to nearby medical facilities for treatment, police said. A wide scale search for the suspects has been launched by Gauteng Serious and Violent Crime Investigations in collaboration with the Crime Detection Tracing Unit, and authorities have urged the public to come forward with information.
Bekkersdal is part of the Rand West City local municipality, an area long affected by high unemployment and poverty following the decline of local gold mining. Mass shootings at bars, sometimes referred to locally as shebeens or taverns, have become a troubling pattern in South Africa despite strict gun control laws, with several such attacks reported in recent weeks.
The country continues to struggle with high rates of violent crime and homicides, with tens of thousands of murders recorded annually in recent years.
Authorities have not yet released details on the motive or identities of those responsible as investigations continue.
