Gunmen kill nine in South Africa tavern attack

A manhunt is underway after a shooting at a tavern in South Africa left nine people dead and 10 others injured.

Police said seven men and two women were killed in Bekkersdal, near Johannesburg, after about 12 unknown gunmen arrived in two cars and opened fire on visitors.

The shooting took place around 01:00 local time on Sunday (23:00 GMT on Saturday) and the gunmen “continued to shoot indiscriminately while [people] fled the scene,” police added.

South Africa has one of the highest murder rates in the world. An average of 63 people were killed every day from April to September this year, according to police data.

Homicides are often the result of quarrels, robberies and gang violence. The motive for this attack is unclear.

At the scene, provincial deputy police commissioner Major General Fred Kekana told broadcaster Newzroom Afrika that the criminals, armed with pistols and one AK-47, were “unprovoked.”

“The poor visitors were just having fun when people came and shot,” he said.

Two of the victims were shot outside the tavern as they tried to escape, while the third was a taxi driver who dropped off a passenger nearby, Major General Kekana added.

Nokutula resident Bhukwana went to the tavern after hearing gunfire.

“When we arrived at the scene, we opened the doors and, sure enough, there were a lot of people lying on the floor,” she told Reuters.

“We were running around and others were calling the police, we also called an ambulance and they came. We had to take some of the wounded in wheelbarrows to the clinic.”

Speaking to Newzroom Afrika, one resident said that shooting at night in Bekkersdal has become a common occurrence.

“Criminals, they do what they want here,” the unnamed man said.

“These guns sound every evening… as soon as dusk falls, we know that shots are about to sound, and they will sound strong.

“This is terrorizing our communities.”

In an on-site interview, the local municipality's deputy mayor, Nontombi Molatlegi, said residents were afraid to speak out and name those responsible.

She said police were under-resourced and too spread out, and called on the military to get involved in protecting residents.

“We, like the political leadership of the city, cry for the intervention of the national government and the release of [the army] so that they can enter this space” and be visible.

There are about three million legally owned firearms in South Africa, but at least the same number of unlicensed guns are in circulation in the country of 63 million people, according to statistics cited by Gideon Joubert of the South African Gun Owners Association.

Earlier this month At least 11 people, including a child, were shot dead at a hostel near Pretoria..

Since 2020, there has been a significant increase in the number of mass shootings in which four or more people were killed or injured, Claire Taylor, a researcher with the Gun Free South Africa campaign, told the BBC.

Her organization recorded 80 such incidents, up from 71 the previous year, according to media reports for 2024. However, in 2025, the number of reports of mass shootings decreased.

Some of the most common locations include licensed taverns, such as in Bekkersdal this weekend, or illegal drinking establishments known locally as shebeens, as happened in the December 6 killings.

Additional reporting by Damian Zane

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