17 people killed in 2 mass shootings in same South African town

JOHANNESBURG — 

Seventeen people, including 15 women, were killed successful 2 wide shootings that took spot adjacent each different successful a agrarian municipality successful South Africa, constabulary said Saturday.

A hunt was nether mode for the suspects, nationalist constabulary spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said successful a statement. The victims were 15 women and 2 men, she said. One different idiosyncratic was successful captious information successful the hospital.

The shootings took spot Friday nighttime successful the municipality of Lusikisiki successful Eastern Cape state successful southeastern South Africa. Video released by constabulary showed that the shootings occurred astatine 2 houses successful the aforesaid neighborhood, which is simply a postulation of agrarian homesteads connected the outskirts of the town.

Twelve women and a antheral were killed successful 1 house, and 3 women and a antheral were killed successful the different house, constabulary said.

Four women, 1 antheral and a 2-month-old babe survived.

“A manhunt has been launched to apprehend those down these heinous killings,” Mathe said.

Local media reported that the radical were attending a household gathering astatine the clip of the shooting, but the motive for the killings remains unknown.

Police curate Senzo Mchunu told media connected Saturday that a squad of detectives and forensic experts had been deployed.

“We person afloat religion and assurance successful the squad that has been deployed to ace this lawsuit and find these criminals. Either they manus themselves implicit oregon we volition fetch them ourselves,” Mchunu said.

South Africa, a state of 62 million, recorded 12,734 homicides successful the archetypal six months of this year, according to authoritative transgression statistic from the police. That’s an mean of much than 70 a day. Firearms are by acold the biggest origin of deaths successful those cases.

Mass shootings person go progressively communal successful caller years, sometimes targeting radical successful their homes.

Ten members of the aforesaid family, including 7 women and a 13-year-old boy, were killed successful a wide shooting astatine their location successful the neighboring KwaZulu-Natal state successful April 2023.

Firearm laws are somewhat strict successful South Africa, but authorities person often pointed to the ample fig of illegal, unregistered guns successful circulation arsenic a large problem.