As many as nine people were killed, and 10 others were injured in an attack at Bekkersdal township outside Johannesburg, police said Sunday, in the second mass shooting in South Africa this month. Police initially said 10 people were killed but later revised the toll downwards.
"Some victims were randomly shot in the streets by unknown gunmen," a police statement said …We don't have a breakdown of who they are," Brigadier Brenda Muridili, police spokesperson for Gauteng province, told AFP. The wounded were taken to hospital, police said.
The shooting took place near a tavern or informal bar in Bekkersdal, an impoverished area near some of South Africa's major gold mines.
What happened exactly?
The attackers in two vehicles "opened fire at tavern patrons and continued to shoot randomly as they fled the scene," a police statement said.
The dead included a driver from an online car-hailing service who had been outside the bar, provincial police commissioner Major General Fred Kekana told SABC television.
A manhunt for the attackers had been launched, police said.
The motive for the attack at Bekkersdal, 40 kilometres (25 miles) southwest of the city, was not clear, police told AFP.
Second mass attack in a month
The mass shooting in South Africa on Sunday, December 21, was the second attack in a month.
Earlier, on December 6, gunmen stormed a hostel near the capital Pretoria, killing a dozen people, including a three-year-old child.
Police said the shooting was at a site that was illegally selling alcohol.
South Africa, home to 63 million people, suffers from a high crime rate, including one of the highest murder rates in the world.
South Africa, the continent's most industrialised nation, is grappling with entrenched crime and corruption driven by organised networks.
Shootings are common and often fuelled by gang violence and competition between informal businesses, contributing to one of the highest murder rates in the world.
