At least 17 killed in mass shooting in South African town

Police accidental a manhunt has been launched aft the onslaught successful the southeast of the country, were wide shootings person lately go common.

Seventeen people, including 15 women, person been killed successful 2 houses successful adjacent proximity to each different successful a agrarian municipality successful South Africa, according to the police.

A hunt was nether mode for the suspects, nationalist constabulary spokesperson Athlenda Mathe said successful a connection connected Saturday.

The shooting took spot connected Friday nighttime successful the municipality of Lusikisiki successful Eastern Cape state successful southeastern South Africa.

Video released by constabulary showed the shooting occurred astatine 2 houses successful the aforesaid neighbourhood, which is simply a postulation of agrarian homesteads connected the outskirts of the town.

Twelve women and a antheral were killed successful 1 location and 3 women and a antheral were killed successful the different house, constabulary said. Four women, 1 antheral and a two-month-old babe survived.

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

Manhunt nether way

Police curate Senzo Mchunu told a media briefing 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.

“We bash not cognize the motive” and “we bash not cognize if determination is 1 oregon respective suspects connected the run”, nationalist constabulary main Fannie Masemola said connected SABC nationalist television.

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 is an mean of much than 70 a day. Firearms are by acold the biggest origin of decease successful those cases.

Mass shootings person besides 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 neighbouring KwaZulu-Natal state successful April 2023.

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