At least 27 people have been killed and 26 others injured in two separate mass shootings in South Africa, police said on Sunday, highlighting the country’s continuing struggle with gun-related violence.
In the first attack, eight gunmen armed with assault rifles and pistols stormed a bar in Wedela, southwest of Johannesburg, at about 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Police said the attackers opened fire on customers drinking outside the bar before moving inside and continuing the shooting. Seventeen people were killed, including 13 men and four women, while 15 others sustained injuries.
The suspects reportedly set two vehicles ablaze before fleeing the scene.
Deputy Provincial Police Commissioner Major General Fred Kekana said investigators had obtained clear images of the suspects and were working to arrest them. He said the attack appeared to have been carried out in retaliation for an incident at the same tavern last month, although the motive had not been conclusively established.
One of the victims was reportedly wanted by police over the earlier incident, in which one person was killed and another injured.
The shooting occurred in Wedela, a semi-rural township characterised by residential areas and small businesses and surrounded by extensive mining operations. The area has also been the focus of government efforts to combat illegal mining and criminal networks operating around abandoned mine shafts.
In a separate attack early Sunday, gunmen opened fire at a barbecue venue in a township outside Cape Town, killing 10 people and injuring 11 others.
Police said five victims died at the scene, while the remaining five died while being transported to hospital. Two of those killed were women.
Videos circulating on social media showed people dancing and drinking before gunfire erupted, prompting revellers to scramble for safety. No arrests had been made in either attack at the time of the police announcement.
The latest shootings come as South Africa continues to record high levels of violent crime, with gun attacks often linked to gangs, organised crime and disputes involving local businesses.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said security forces would intensify efforts to curb criminality and violence across the country.
“The clear instruction to our security forces is that we must bring the levels of criminality and violence down,” Ramaphosa said, stressing that South Africa could not become a country where people “just pick up guns and start shooting at people at random.”
The country has repeatedly deployed soldiers to support police operations in areas experiencing severe violence. Military personnel have previously been sent to crime hotspots in Johannesburg and gang-affected communities around Cape Town.
The latest attacks also follow a shooting in Durban last week, where 11 people, including a pregnant woman, were killed after gunmen stormed a house party.
Meanwhile, police in Johannesburg are investigating the killings of 11 women in a single municipality over a two-month period. Four people have so far been arrested in connection with the series of murders.
Police have offered a 400,000-rand ($25,000) reward for information leading to the arrest of the suspected killer or killers, while the Democratic Alliance has announced an additional reward of about $31,000.
