At least 15 people have been confirmed dead following a mass shooting at a bar in the Nomzamo informal settlement of Soweto, South Africa, early Sunday morning.
According to the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), the attack occurred shortly after midnight when a group of armed men stormed the bar and opened fire indiscriminately at patrons. Gauteng Police said the assailants were armed with rifles and 9-millimeter pistols.
Police confirmed that 23 people were shot in total — 12 died at the scene, while 11 others were rushed to a nearby hospital, where two later died from their injuries. The suspects remain at large as authorities continue their investigation and appeal for witnesses to come forward.
“It’s a bad scene. When you see the bodies piled up, you can see that every one of those people was struggling to get out of the tavern,” said Gauteng Police Commissioner Elias Mawela. He added that the motive behind the attack is yet to be determined but expressed confidence that community cooperation would help police solve the case.
In a separate incident on Saturday evening, four people were killed and eight others injured when two gunmen opened fire in another tavern in Sweetwaters, Pietermaritzburg. Police said the suspects are still being sought.
The wave of violence has drawn widespread concern across South Africa. The South African National Civic Organisation in Gauteng has urged the government to strengthen gun control measures.
President Cyril Ramaphosa extended his condolences to the families of the victims in both attacks, describing the incidents as deeply troubling.
“As a nation, we cannot allow violent criminals to terrorise us in this way,” Ramaphosa said in a statement. “Every single violent death is unacceptable and worrying. Killings on the scale we have seen in Soweto, Pietermaritzburg, and previously in Khayelitsha must spur us into collective action to make South Africa an unsafe place for criminals.”
The attacks come just weeks after 22 young people — some as young as 13 — were found dead under unexplained circumstances at a tavern in East London, adding to growing concerns over violence in South African drinking establishments.
