South Africa Reels as Trio of ‘Random’ Tavern Shootings Leaves at Least 21 Dead, Dozens Injured
01:59 GMT 11.07.2022 (Updated: 11:38 GMT 23.11.2022)
© AP Photo / Shiraaz Mohamed
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A trio of tavern shootings in South Africa has resulted in at least 21 deaths, and more than a dozen injured, many in life-altering conditions. Authorities responding to the Soweto Township shooting said they remain unaware of “why they were targeting these people.”
Gun violence has surged in South Africa in recent days, with a number of those shootings taking place at three different bars in the republic.
Authorities have yet to make an arrest in the Sunday morning mass shooting that occurred in the Orlando East neighborhood of Soweto Township.
Col. Dimakatso Sello, a spokesperson for the police, said that an unknown group of men stormed a Nomzamo shantytown tavern around 12:30 a.m. local time on Sunday and opened fire, fatally shooting at least 15 people and injuring another 12 individuals.
A total of 12 individuals died at the scene, and three other victims died at the hospital, where seven more remain in critical condition. Those injured were first taken to Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital.
Lt. Gen. Elias Mawela, police commissioner in the Gauteng province, told the Associated Press that individuals with high-powered rifles appear to have randomly targeted a large group of people who were patronizing “a licensed tavern operating within the right hours.”
“All of a sudden they heard some gunshots, that is when people tried to run out of the tavern. We don’t have the full details at the moment of what is the motive, and why they were targeting these people,” he told the outlet.
#NomzamoTavern Blood stains outside the gate leading to the tavern where 15 people were shot dead on Saturday night. Eight others are hospitalised @TeamNews24 pic.twitter.com/2rtGVovE7C
— ntwaagae Seleka (@ntwaagae) July 10, 2022
Witnesses at the scene were unable to get a good reading on the shooters’ features, as the bar was dimly lit.
“You can see that a high caliber firearm was used and it was shooting randomly,” Mawela pointed out. “You can see that every one of those people were struggling to get out of the tavern.”
Lt.-Col. Nqobile Gwala, a KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson, told the New York Times that the Soweto shooting has no links to the attack that occurred hours before in Pietermaritzburg, the capital and second-largest city in the KwaZulu-Natal province.
At least four individuals immediately died from gunshot wounds after unknown gunmen entered a tavern in the province’s Sweetwaters region.
“We do not think the incidents are linked because they took place in different provinces. We are investigating this incident on its own,” the spokesperson said.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa declared in a statement that the nation “cannot allow violent criminals to terrorize us in this way.”
“As government, citizens and structures of civil society we must all work together even more closely to improve social and economic conditions in communities, reduce violent crime and stamp out the illicit circulation of firearms,” he said, commenting on the Soweto and Pietermaritzburg shootings.
People gather at the scene of an overnight bar shooting in Soweto, South Africa, Sunday July 10, 2022. A mass shooting at a tavern in Johannesburg's Soweto township has killed 15 people and left others in critical condition, according to police. Police say they are investigating reports that a group of men arrived in a minibus taxi and opened fire on some of the patrons at the bar shortly after midnight Sunday.
© AP Photo / Shiraaz Mohamed
The Soweto incident was also preceded by a shooting in the Katlehong township, over 25 miles east. It remains unclear if these two incidents were linked.
The July 8 shooting reportedly occurred after four men entered a bar and at least one of them began shooting randomly at patrons, according to police.
A manhunt remains underway.
South Africa’s murder rate has surged about 66% within the past year, with authorities recording 5,760 murders in 2021, according to police data. This translates to 9.5 murders per 100,000 people.
Campaign group Gun Free South Africa estimates there are around 3 million guns registered in the country. The estimate excludes illegally obtained firearms and those in circulation on the black market.
