Gunmen stormed a hotel in its capital and killed at least 11 people, including a three-year-old child.
The attack is the latest in a series of mass shootings that have rocked the crime-ridden country of 63 million.
Breaking: A mass shooting at a hostel in South Africa’s capital Pretoria has left 11 people and 14 others wounded. Three minors including a 3-year-old boy died in the Saturday morning shooting. Police says gunmen entered the hostel firing indiscriminately. The motive is unknown.
— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica)
What the police are saying about the hotel attack
“I can confirm that a total of 25 people were shot,” police spokeswoman Athlenda Mathe said, adding that 14 were hospitalized.
Ten people died on the spot in the town of Saulsville, 18 kilometers west of Pretoria, while another died in hospital, he said.
Three gunmen stormed the premises around 4:30am. local time and shot indiscriminately at a group of men who had been drinking.
A 12-year-old and a 16-year-old were also killed in the attack.
“A rather unfortunate incident. The police were alerted to the incident at around 6 o’clock,” Mathe said.
Police said a motive is unknown and no arrests have been made, and a manhunt is underway.
“We are facing a serious challenge in terms of these illegal and unlicensed liquor stores,” Mathe said, adding that this is where most mass shootings occur.
“Innocent people are also caught in the crossfire,” he told public broadcaster SABC.
Established crime
South Africa is struggling with entrenched crime and corruption driven by organized networks.
Shootings are common and often fueled by gang violence and alcohol.
Many people own licensed firearms for personal protection, but there are far more illegal guns in circulation.
About 63 people were killed every day between April and September, according to police figures, one of the highest homicide rates in the world.
Most of the deaths came from brawls, while robberies and gang violence also took the toll, police said last month.
In October, two teenagers were killed and five others injured in an armed gang attack in Johannesburg, the country’s financial capital.
In another incident in May, gunmen killed eight customers at a tavern in the southeastern city of Durban.
Last year, 18 relatives were shot dead in a rural farmhouse in the country’s Eastern Cape province.
Main photo source: The Daily Star/BSS
