JOHANNESBURG — A mass shooting at a tavern in the Johannesburg town of Soweto has killed 15 people and left others in critical condition, according to police.
Police said they were investigating reports that a group of men arrived in a taxi van and opened fire on some patrons at the bar shortly after midnight on Sunday.
The injured were taken to Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital.
The number of rounds found at the scene indicated a group of people opened fire at the bar, Gauteng provincial police commissioner Lt-Gen Elias Mawela said.
“The initial investigation suggests that these people were enjoying themselves here in a licensed tavern operating at the correct hours,” Mauella told The Associated Press.
“Suddenly, shots were heard, then people tried to run from the tavern. At the moment we don’t have full details of what the motive is and why they targeted these people,” he said.
“You see a high-caliber firearm was used and it was firing randomly. You could see that every single one of these people was struggling to get out of the pub,” Mauella told The Associated Press.
The area where the shooting took place was very dark, making it difficult to find people who could identify the suspects, he said.
Rifles and a 9 mm pistol were used in the attack, said national police spokesman Col. Dimakatso Selo.
In another incident, four people were shot dead by unknown gunmen at a tavern in the town of Sweetwaters in the coastal city of Pietermaritzburg on Saturday evening.
According to police, two men entered the tavern and randomly opened fire on patrons, killing two people on the spot while two others were confirmed dead at the hospital. Police said 8 more people are being treated in hospital. The dead are between the ages of 30 and 45 and police are investigating charges of murder and attempted murder, police said.
“The team will be working around the clock to trace and bring to justice those responsible for this shooting,” KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner General Nhlanhla Mkwanazi said.
The bar shooting comes two weeks after 21 teenagers were found dead in a tavern in the east London town. The cause of those deaths has not yet been released by authorities, but the teenagers were not shot or crushed in the stampede, according to officials.
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