Crime · updated 1h ago · 2 min read
Gunmen Kill 27 People in South Africa Bar and Store Shootings, Police Pursue Suspects
Two mass shootings in Gauteng and Western Cape killed 27 people. Eight gunmen with AK-47 rifles opened fire at a bar in Wedela, killing 17 and wounding 15.
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ABC News
“No arrests had been made in the two shootings, which came just five days after another mass shooting in a township near the city of Durban killed at least 11 people.”Read the original ↗
BBC signals more investigative detail than other outlets.
Twin shootings in townships
South African police said eight gunmen armed with AK-47 rifles and pistols opened fire at patrons at a bar in Wedela township, southwest of Johannesburg, killing 17 people and wounding at least 15 on Saturday night. Police said the attackers shot at people outside the bar before moving inside to continue the killing, and police said the gunmen searched some patrons and took their mobile phones before escaping in two vehicles. Police said gunmen then killed 10 people and wounded 11 in a mass shooting after 1 a.m. at a store in Lwandle township near Cape Town, with police searching for multiple suspects.
Police said the two shootings came just five days after another mass shooting in a township near Durban killed at least 11 people, including a pregnant woman. Police said no arrests had been made in the two latest shootings, and police were pursuing a manhunt for the suspects.
Police hunt and case counts
South African police said they were searching for eight suspects after the Wedela attack, and police said the attackers were reportedly armed with AK-47 rifles and pistols. Captain Tintswalo Sibeko said detectives and specialist police units had been assigned to identify and find the eight suspects, and police opened 17 murder cases and 15 attempted murder cases as well as two cases related to property damage. South African police said the Lwandle shooting happened after midnight on Sunday, and police said they were searching for multiple suspects after gunmen opened fire at a store near Cape Town.
Police said investigators searched some customers during the Wedela attack and took their mobile phones, and police said the suspects escaped in two vehicles. South African police said the shootings came as the country faced persistently high levels of violent crime, including killings involving firearms.
Violence, firearms, and response
President Cyril Ramaphosa deployed soldiers on the streets in March in a yearlong operation to combat crime in some of the country's worst-affected areas, including high-crime areas around Johannesburg and Cape Town. Ramaphosa said crime by organized gangs was the biggest threat to South Africa's democracy and economic development, and police and crime experts said shootings were the most common form of homicide. ABC News said there were 5,427 homicides in South Africa in the latest three-month period between April and June at an average of nearly 60 homicides a day, and police said shootings were the most common form of homicide.A
Police said the latest mass shootings left at least 27 people dead, and police said no arrests had been made in the two shootings. The South African Police Service said the first incident happened on Saturday around 9:30 p.m. local time at a bar in the West Rand district municipality near Johannesburg, and police said they opened an investigation for “murder and attempted murder.”