The shooters, “Guests,” were “randomly” fired at, according to the police, who added that “eight individuals perished and three others are hospitalized and continue battling for their lives.” “Among the dead is the home’s owner.”
Eight people were killed and three others were injured when gunmen opened fire on a group of people in a South African township who were celebrating a birthday over the weekend, police said on Monday.
The birthday celebrant was one of the victims of the mass shooting in Gqeberha, a port city in southern South Africa that was originally known as Port Elizabeth.
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When two unidentified gunmen “entered the yard” on Sunday night and “started firing at the visitors,” the home’s owner was “celebrating his birthday,” according to a statement from the police.
Police stated that the shooters “randomly shot at visitors” and that eight people perished, three others were hospitalized, and they were still battling for their lives. One of those killed is the homeowner.
The attack’s motivation is still a mystery.
Nomthetheleli Mene, who is the provincial police commissioner for the Eastern Cape, said that the deaths showed “a clear disregard for human life.”
The attack is the subject of an investigation, and police say they are looking for the attackers.
South Africa has one of the highest murder rates in the world, and gang violence and alcohol are major contributors to the country’s high rate of shootings.
Last year, there were several shootings in South Africa that left close to two dozen people dead in various bars in working-class neighborhoods of Johannesburg and the eastern city of Pietermaritzburg.
Monday morning, the national police commissioner, Fannie Masemola, the police minister, Bheki Cele, and crime experts were going to visit assault scenes later in the morning.
