Tragic Mass Shooting in South Africa Claims Nine Lives, Leaves 10 Injured

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Nine people were killed when gunmen opened fire at a bar outside Johannesburg early Sunday, police said, in the second such shooting in South Africa this month.

Ten more were wounded in the early morning attack at the tavern in the impoverished Bekkersdal township in a gold mining area around 40 kilometres southwest of the city.

It follows a shooting at a tavern near Pretoria on 6 December when gunmen killed a dozen people, including a three‑year‑old child.

Police initially said 10 people were killed when the Bekkersdal bar was attacked just before 1am local time, but later revised the toll downwards.

Most of the attackers were armed with pistols and one had an AK-47 rifle, deputy provincial police commissioner major general Fred Kekana told SABC television from the scene.

“The assailants entered the tavern and indiscriminately opened fire on the patrons without any provocation,” a witness reported.

Police officers are seen behind barricade tape along with vans.

The South African Police Service has initiated an intense search for the suspects involved in this tragic incident.

The shooting resulted in the deaths of three individuals inside the establishment. As chaos ensued, others were fatally shot while attempting to escape, with the attackers continuing their assault as they fled the scene.

The victims of this senseless act included children, tragically aged just three, 12, and 16 years old.

South Africa, the continent’s most industrialised nation, is grappling with a high crime rate, much of it driven by organised networks and gangs.

The country is awash with legal and illegal firearms and shootings are common, often fuelled by gang rivalry and competition between informal businesses.

The tavern hit in the Pretoria attack earlier this month was an unlicensed outlet in a hostel for migrant workers at Saulsville township.

The dead included children aged three, 12 and 16.

The country was also shocked by the daylight assassination in central Johannesburg last week of a popular former radio presenter known as DJ Warras.

The 40-year-old, whose real name was Warris Stock, was gunned down on 16 December outside a building that he had visited as part of his work with a private security company.

In another high-profile killing, a witness in a corruption inquiry was shot dead in front of his family on 5 December, just weeks after testifying against a municipal police chief.

The murder of Marius Van der Merwe, 41, reignited a debate about the targeting of whistleblowers who provide information related to crime and corruption, including the public sector and cases implicating government officials.

South Africa has one of the highest murder rates in the world, with an average of 63 people killed each day between April and September, according to police data.

In one of the worst mass shootings in recent months, 18 relatives were shot dead at a rural homestead in the Eastern Cape province in September 2024.

The victims, who had gathered for a traditional ceremony, were aged 14 to 64 years old, and 15 were women. Several men have been arrested.