The death toll from a mass shooting at a tavern in Wedela, a semi-rural township about 80 kilometres west of Johannesburg, has risen to 18, police said on Monday.
Police said eight gunmen armed with assault rifles stormed the bar late on Saturday, killing 13 men and four women. “One more victim has died in hospital, bringing the total number of deceased to 18,” the force said in an update reported by local outlets.
Only four of the deceased have been identified, the police said, naming two as South African and two as nationals of Lesotho. The identification detail was reported by local media quoting police sources.
The motive for the attack was not clear, the reports said. The area is reportedly gripped by rivalry between gangs involved in illicit gold mining, and thousands of unregistered miners operate in abandoned shafts across South Africa, including many from Lesotho, the accounts added.
The Wedela shooting was part of a violent weekend in the country. In a separate incident outside Cape Town early on Sunday, gunmen killed 10 people and wounded 11 at an entertainment venue, the local reports said.
Both accounts noted that South Africa has widespread ownership of legal and illegal firearms and a high murder rate. The country, with a population of around 62 million, records about 60 killings each day, the reports said.
Reporting on the Wedela attack cited police for the casualty figures and identification. See the original accounts from Channels Television and Vanguard for full details: Channels Television, Vanguard.
Featured image: Vectorebus via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.
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