At least 11 people – including a three-year-old child – have been killed in a mass shooting at a hostel in South Africa.
Fourteen others were wounded when gunmen stormed the venue in Saulsville township, west of the capital Pretoria, early on Saturday.
At least three unknown gunmen began firing "randomly" at a group of people who were drinking, police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said.
The motive of the shooting is unknown and no arrests have been made. It is the latest in a string of mass shootings that have rocked the crime-ridden country in recent years.
The gunmen reportedly entered the premise at 04:30 local time (02:30 GMT) and opened fire on a group of men who were drinking. A 12-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl were among those killed in the attack.
"I can confirm that a total of 25 people were shot," Mathe said.
Describing the hostel as an "illegal shebeen", she added: "We are having a serious challenge when it comes to these illegal and unlicensed liquor premises," where she said the majority of mass shootings occur.
"Innocent people also get caught up in the crossfire," she told public broadcaster SABC.
In a major crackdown, police shut down 12,000 such premises outlets between April and September this year and arrested more than 18,000 people across the country.
South Africa has one of the highest murder rates in the world, at 45 people per 100,000 according to 2023-24 figures from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
Some 63 people were killed every day between April and September, according to police data.
LATEST POSTS
- 1
Artemis 2 captures historic 'Earthset' photo | Space photo of the day for April 7, 2026 - 2Tesla Germany Registrations Quadruple to 9,252 Vehicles in Best March Ever
- 3Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthis join Iran in strike on Israel
- 4Curl Up With Some Hot Chocolate And Watch Mighty Car Mods Explore Japan In A Honda City Turbo II
- 5Palestinians reel under winter rains as Israel blocks Gaza shelter supplies
- Jillian Michaels put me at the center of a body positivity debate. She's not entirely wrong about obesity.
- NASA's Artemis II launch leaves Americans in awe: 'We're going back to the frickin' moon!'
- Pilot captures jaw-dropping northern lights show from 36,000 feet (photos)
- Figure out How to Involve a Brain science Certification in Showcasing
- Tickets for 'Stranger Things' Season 5 finale, to be shown in movie theaters on New Year's Eve, go on sale today. Here's how you can save your seat.
- Japan deploys the military to counter a surge in bear attacks
- Chinese astronauts’ return to Earth delayed over fears spaceship damaged by debris
- One lightly wounded after Iranian missile barrage targets northern Israel
- Rediscovering Imagination in Adulthood: Individual Creative Excursions
