At least 11 people have been killed and 14 others injured after gunmen stormed a hostel in Saulsville township, west of Pretoria, in the early hours of Saturday.
The victims include a three-year-old child, a 12-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl, deepening the shock surrounding the attack.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said a group of people had been drinking inside the premises when three unidentified gunmen entered at about 04:30 local time and opened fire without warning. “A total of 25 people were shot,” she confirmed, noting that the scene was chaotic when officers arrived.
The hostel, described by authorities as an “illegal shebeen,” is the latest site of a mass shooting in a country grappling with widespread gun violence.
Mathe stressed that unlicensed liquor spots remain hotspots for deadly attacks, saying these locations often draw criminal activity and leave patrons vulnerable.
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“Innocent people also get caught up in the crossfire,” she told SABC in a public appeal for community cooperation.
No arrests have been made, and investigators are working to trace the shooters and establish a motive.
South Africa continues to battle high levels of violent crime. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime recorded a murder rate of 45 per 100,000 people for 2023–24, one of the highest globally. Police data shows that an average of 63 people were killed every day between April and September this year.
The shooting in Saulsville adds to a growing list of mass attacks that have shaken communities across the country, intensifying calls for tighter firearm control, stronger policing of illegal taverns, and broader reforms to curb the rising tide of violence.
News Express
