South Africa shooting: Nine people were killed and 10 others injured in a shooting in Bekkersdal township, west of Johannesburg, South Africa, on Sunday, December 21, police said. Authorities initially reported 10 deaths but later revised the toll.
“Some victims were randomly shot in the streets by unknown gunmen,” said Brigadier Brenda Muridili, spokesperson for Gauteng province. The injured were rushed to nearby hospitals.
The attack happened near a tavern in Bekkersdal, a poor area close to South Africa’s major gold mines. Police said the gunmen, travelling in two vehicles, opened fire on patrons before continuing to shoot randomly as they fled.
Among the dead was a driver for an online car-hailing service who had been outside the bar, according to provincial police commissioner Major General Fred Kekana.
A manhunt for the attackers is underway, but the motive remains unclear. Bekkersdal is about 40 kilometers (25 miles) southwest of Johannesburg.
South Africa, with a population of 63 million, continues to struggle with high crime rates and widespread gang violence. Shootings and murders are often linked to competition between informal businesses, leaving the country with one of the highest murder rates in the world.
Horror in Pretoria: 11 Killed, Including Children, in South Africa Shooting
South Africa shooting: Earlier, on December 6, gunmen attacked a hostel near Pretoria, killing 12 people, including a three-year-old child. That attack took place at a site illegally selling alcohol.
At least 11 people, including three children aged three, 12, and 16, were killed in a mass shooting in a South African hostel near Pretoria on Saturday, December 6. Police confirmed the attack, saying it left a total of 25 people injured, with 14 hospitalized.
The gunmen, three in number, stormed a bar inside the Saulsville township hostel in the early hours, firing indiscriminately at patrons. Ten victims died at the scene, and one more later in the hospital.
“Quite an unfortunate incident. Police were only alerted to this incident around 6 o’clock,” said police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe. The motive remains unknown, and no arrests have been made.
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This shooting is the latest in a series of violent incidents in South Africa, a country of 63 million struggling with high crime rates. In 2024 alone, the nation recorded more than 26,000 homicides, averaging over 70 deaths a day.
Bars, often called shebeens or taverns, have frequently been sites of mass shootings. In 2022, a shooting in Soweto killed 16 people. Authorities have identified illegal liquor sales and unlicensed bars as major contributors to such violence. Between April and September this year, police closed over 11,000 illegal taverns and arrested more than 18,000 people connected to these operations.
South Africa continues to grapple with widespread crime and the circulation of both legal and illegal firearms, making incidents like the Pretoria shooting a recurring tragedy.
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