Nine dead in mass shooting at pub near Johannesburg; police hunt suspects

Nine people were killed and at least 10 were wounded in a mass shooting outside a pub near Johannesburg early Saturday, authorities said, just before 1 a.m. local time outside the Kwanoxolo bar in Bekkersdal, a township about 28 miles from the city.

Police said about 12 unknown suspects traveled in a white minibus and a silver car, opened fire on patrons at the bar, and continued to shoot randomly as they fled the scene. Maj. Gen. Fred Kekana, Gauteng provincial police commissioner, said at least two victims were shot outside the tavern as they tried to flee, including a taxi driver who had dropped off a passenger nearby.

Kekana told SABC television that the perpetrators were armed with pistols and an AK-47 and described the attack as unprovoked. He quoted another Newzroom Afrika interview in which a resident said gunfire has become a nightly occurrence in Bekkersdal, with “criminals” acting without constraint and terrorizing the community.

A regional manhunt was launched by the Gauteng Serious and Violent Crime Investigations unit in coordination with the Crime Detection Tracing Unit to identify and apprehend those responsible. The shooting is the latest in a string of mass-attacks at bars, or shebeens, in South Africa in recent years; the country has seen several such incidents near major urban centers.

Earlier this month, a mass shooting at an unlicensed bar near Pretoria left more than a dozen people dead and several others injured, according to police and local reports. In 2022, a similar attack killed 16 people in Soweto, outside Johannesburg, underscoring ongoing violence linked to firearms and criminal activity in the country.

South Africa recorded almost 26,000 homicides in 2024, averaging more than 70 per day, making it one of the world’s highest homicide-rate nations. Firearms are the leading offender in these killings. While the country maintains relatively stringent gun-control laws, officials say many murders are carried out using illegal firearms, complicating prevention efforts.

Authorities stressed that the investigation remains active and that no arrests have yet been announced. Officials urged anyone with information to come forward to assist in identifying the suspects and reconstructing the timeline of events.