Nine dead, 10 wounded in South African pub shooting; manhunt underway
Nine people were killed and 10 injured when gunmen opened fire at a Bekkersdal tavern just after 1 a.m.; authorities say it is the second mass shooting in three weeks.
Just before 1 a.m. on Sunday, gunmen opened fire at the KwaNoxolo tavern in the Tambo section of Bekkersdal, a township about 46 kilometers (28 miles) west of Johannesburg in Gauteng province.
About 12 unknown suspects fled the scene in a white mini-bus and a silver sedan after firing at patrons and continuing to shoot as they fled, police said. Some victims were randomly shot in the streets, according to authorities.
One of the deceased was a driver for an online car-hailing service who had been outside the pub, Gauteng police Commissioner Maj. Gen. Fred Kekana told SABC television.
A manhunt has been launched by Gauteng Serious and Violent Crime Investigations in collaboration with the Crime Detection Tracing Unit as investigators seek to identify those responsible and determine a motive.
This incident comes amid a pattern of violence at bars in South Africa, where shebeens and taverns have at times been the scene of mass shootings in recent years. Earlier this month, a mass shooting at an unlicensed bar near the capital left at least 12 people dead and 13 others injured. In 2022, a mass shooting in Soweto killed 16 people. On the same day as the Bekkersdal attack, four people were killed in a mass shooting at a bar in another province.
South Africa, with a population of about 62 million, recorded nearly 26,000 homicides in 2024, or more than 70 per day on average, a statistic that underscores one of the world’s highest homicide rates. Firearms are the leading cause of death in homicides, though the country maintains relatively stringent gun-control laws; officials say many murders involve illegal firearms.
Authorities said the investigation is ongoing and no arrests had been announced as of Sunday morning, with officials emphasizing that details about the suspects’ identities and motives were still developing.