At least 15 people, including a three-year-old child, were killed when armed men attacked a hostel in Pretoria in the early hours of Saturday, the latest in a wave of mass shootings that has unsettled South Africa.
Police said the assault took place in the Saulsville township, roughly 18 kilometres west of the capital, at a location authorities identified as an illegal drinking spot operating inside the hostel.
According to police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe, three attackers entered the building around 4:30 a.m. and opened fire on a group of men gathered at the unlicensed tavern. A total of 25 people were shot.
“Ten victims died at the scene, two passed away in hospital, and a twelfth person died from injuries this afternoon,” she said.
Among the dead were a 12-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl.
Mathe noted that officers were only alerted to the incident around 6:00 a.m., describing the situation as “deeply unfortunate.”
Police have launched a search for the assailants, whose identities and motive remain unknown.
Investigators say early evidence indicates the attack fits a pattern of violence commonly linked to illegal alcohol venues.
“We are facing a major challenge with these unregulated liquor outlets,” Mathe said on public broadcaster SABC.
“Most mass shootings occur in such spaces, and innocent bystanders often become victims.”
South Africa continues to battle entrenched criminality driven by gangs and illicit networks, even as authorities work under strict gun-control laws. Despite this, illegal firearms remain widespread.
Recent police statistics show an average of 63 people killed every day between April and September, placing the country among the world’s most dangerous.
Many of the deaths stem from personal disputes, robberies, and gang-related confrontations.
The Pretoria attack mirrors several recent tragedies: in October, two teenagers were killed and five others injured in what police described as a gang-related shooting in Johannesburg.
In May, eight patrons were murdered at a tavern in Durban.
Last year, 18 members of the same family were massacred in a rural homestead in the Eastern Cape.
Saturday’s attack has once again highlighted the depth of South Africa’s security challenges, as communities brace for answers and police intensify their search for the perpetrators.
