Gunmen kill 8, wound 10 in South Africa bar attack

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 kilometers (25 miles) southwest of the city.

It follows a shooting at a tavern near Pretoria on Dec. 6 when gunmen killed a dozen people.

Police initially said 10 people were killed when the Bekkersdal bar was attacked just before 1:00 am (2300 GMT), but later revised the toll downwards to nine.

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.

"They entered the tavern and randomly shot at the patrons, unprovoked," he said.

Three people were killed inside the bar and others as they fled the scene, with the attackers continuing to shoot as they left, he said.

"It's also reported that after they shot the people, they searched them. They took their valuables, including cell phones," Kekana said.

The dead included a driver from an online car-hailing service who was driving past.

"It's pure criminality," Kekana said. Police launched a manhunt for the attackers and appealed for public assistance.

Crime wave

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 unlicenced 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 December 16 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 December 5, 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.