Gunmen kill nine in South African tavern shooting

A dozen armed suspects gunned down patrons at a pub outside Johannesburg before fleeing the scene, police have reported

Nine people have been killed and another ten wounded in a shooting incident at a licensed tavern in a township south-west of Johannesburg, the local police have reported. The authorities have launched a manhunt, with the suspects still at large.

In a statement on Sunday, the South African Police Service (SAPS) said that “about 12 unknown suspects in a white [minibus] and a silver sedan opened fire at tavern patrons… just before 01:00.”

The incident occurred in the unemployment-stricken township of Bekkersdal in Rand West City municipality.

Gauteng Acting Police Commissioner Major General Fred Kekana told local media that “we don’t know the motive yet, but we are looking for a silver Toyota Etios and a white Toyota Quantum, which were used by the suspects.”

Kekana, citing an eyewitness, told SABS News that at least nine of the suspects were armed with pistols and another was carrying an AK-47-type rifle. After unleashing the carnage, the suspects allegedly searched the victims and took “their valuables, including cell phones.”

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Earlier this month, Gauteng province witnessed a similar shooting which targeted an illegal tavern, leaving 12 dead, including two minors, with dozens of patrons sustaining injuries.

Also in early December, a witness, who was under protection as part of a high-profile investigation into an alleged police cover-up, was gunned down outside his house by unknown hitmen.

South Africa has seen a spike in gun violence and crime recently. In September, Professor Eugene Cloete, chief executive of the Cape Higher Education Consortium, citing SAPS statistics, estimated that in the fourth quarter of the 2024/25 fiscal year, the average murder rate in South Africa exceeded 60 homicides per day.