Eighteen people have been killed after a mass shooting in the remote South African town of Lusikisiki, in the Eastern Cape.
Two homesteads on the same street were the source of the violence, which saw12 women and one man killed in one location, and three women and one man at a second location.
The 18th victim died in hospital on Sunday, the South Africa Police Service has reported.
Officials said the victims were relatives and neighbours in Nyathi village, Ngobozana in Lusikisik, although the motive for the shooting is still unknown.
According to South African media, the victims had been gathered at the houses to prepare for traditional mourning ceremony for a mother and daughter who were murdered one year ago.
They had been packing goods and presents, when they were attacked, according to the media reports.
‘We heard gunshots and doors that were kicked,’ Nomnikelo Ndlovu, one of the residents who was able to hide during the attack, told state broadcaster SABC.
‘We tried to hide and three people were shot. We are still traumatised.’
In a statement on Saturday, the police minister said that there had been a total of 19 people sleeping in two homes in the same yard at one of the shooting locations.
Mchunu added that there had been six survivors at that homestead – four women, a man, and a two-month-old child. A police spokesperson said earlier that the child was uninjured, but had been taken to hospital as a precaution.
There were no survivors at the other homestead.
Mchunu said a team of detectives and forensic experts, including crime scene managers from Pretoria, had been deployed ‘to piece all [the] evidence together in a bid to apprehend these brutal criminals’.
South Africa has one of the highest murder rates in the world, according to the latest figures from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
There were more than 27,000 murders in 2022 – amounting to 45 people per 100,000, out of a population of almost 60 million. By comparison, the US rate is six per 100,000.
In a statement on Saturday, police minister Senzo Mchunu said there had been a total of 19 people sleeping in two homes in the same yard at one of the shooting locations.
Mchunu added that there had been six survivors at that homestead – four women, a man, and a two-month-old child. A police spokesperson said earlier that the child was uninjured, but had been taken to hospital as a precaution.
There were no survivors at the other homestead.
Mchunu said a team of detectives and forensic experts, including crime scene managers from Pretoria, had been deployed ‘to piece all [the] evidence together in a bid to apprehend these brutal criminals’.
Mass shootings are common in South Africa which has one of the world’s highest murder rates.
The murder rate in the country is at a 20-year high.
According to recent police data, more than 6,000 people were murdered across the country between April and June this year.
Police Ministry claims that more than 53,000 suspects wanted for violent crimes including murder had been arrested in the last month and over 400 illegal and unregistered firearms seized.
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