South Africa bar shooting leaves five dead; gunmen wanted by police

The attackers burst into a bar and killed five customers, wounding three others. Photo / 123rf

South African police said they were hunting for attackers who burst into a bar in a township outside the capital and killed five customers and wounded three others.

The attack at approximately 10.30pm Friday local time (8.30am Saturday NZT) is the latest mass shooting in the crime-ridden country, where murders average over 75 a day.

About 10 gunmen raided the tavern in Olievenhoutbosch, around 25km south of Pretoria, and “started shooting randomly without saying a word”, police said.

Three men and two women were killed.

“The motive for the shooting is unknown at this stage,” police said in a statement.

Shootings are common in South Africa, often fuelled by gang violence and alcohol.

Many people own licensed firearms for personal protection, yet there are many more illegal guns in circulation.

A national security strategy published this week warned that crime syndicates may evolve to use “more dangerous and sophisticated weapons”.

“If the problem of gangsterism is not addressed, gangs will continue to occupy social spaces and create no-go areas and in turn fuel vigilantism as [communities] attempt to reclaim spaces and protect themselves from crimes perpetrated by gangs,” the redacted report said.

There were more than 27,600 murders in South Africa in the 2023-2024 financial year, according to police statistics, with most of the victims being young, black men in urban areas.

– Agence France-Presse