Gunmen Kill 27 in Mass Shootings in South Africa’s Two Main Cities
Gunmen killed at least 27 people in two separate mass shootings in South Africa’s largest cities over the weekend, police said Sunday, in the latest outbreak of violence to strike a country already grappling with some of the world’s highest homicide rates.
The first attack unfolded at around 9:30 p.m. local time on Saturday when eight gunmen armed with assault rifles and pistols stormed a bar in Wedela township, southwest of Johannesburg. According to police, the attackers opened fire on customers drinking outside before moving inside the venue and continuing to shoot. Seventeen people were killed, including 13 men and four women, while 15 others were wounded. Before fleeing the scene, the suspects reportedly set two vehicles alight.
Hours later, in the early hours of Sunday morning, a second attack struck a dining and entertainment venue near the town of Lwandle, outside Cape Town. Police said gunmen entered the venue at around 1:46 a.m. and opened fire on patrons. Ten people were killed and 11 more wounded; five victims were declared dead at the scene, while others died of their injuries en route to hospital. Authorities said the attackers were reportedly armed with AK-47 rifles and pistols. An eyewitness video circulating from the scene showed a crowd dancing and singing moments before gunfire erupted.
No arrests have been made in either case, and police in both Gauteng and Western Cape provinces say detectives are actively working to trace the attackers. Motives for both shootings remain unclear. Police have offered a 400,000 rand (roughly $25,000) reward for information leading to an arrest, an amount the Democratic Alliance, South Africa’s second-largest political party, has supplemented with a further $31,000 contribution.
The weekend’s violence follows a similarly deadly attack just five days earlier in KwaMakhutha township near Durban, where gunmen opened fire on a house party and killed 11 people, including a pregnant woman. No arrests have been reported in that case either. Taken together, the three incidents mark a particularly violent stretch even by the standards of a country long accustomed to high levels of gun crime.
South Africa recorded more than 22,700 murders in the twelve months to June, according to police data, underscoring the scale of the country’s ongoing struggle with violent crime. Officials and experts say the killings are often linked to gang rivalries and competition among informal businesses, fuelled by the widespread availability of both legal and illegal firearms. Recent mass shootings have also included an attack in June that killed 12 people in a poor Johannesburg neighbourhood, and two shootings within two weeks in December that together left 21 people dead.
The latest violence adds to broader unease in the country, which has also been unsettled in recent months by the discovery of multiple women’s bodies near Johannesburg’s main airport, further straining public confidence in law enforcement. South Africa has previously turned to its military to reinforce policing efforts during periods of heightened crime, including during the 2021 riots following the jailing of former president Jacob Zuma, though gun violence and other serious crime have continued largely unabated.
This is a sensitive and distressing topic; if you or someone you know has been affected by violence, I’m happy to help you find relevant support resources.
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