At least 11 killed including three minors after gunmen open fires in illegal Pretoria bar, here’s what we know so far

The South African Police Service (SAPS) has confirmed that the death toll in a fatal shooting in Pretoria on Saturday has risen to 11.

The incident occurred at the Saulsville Hostel in Atteridgeville, west of Pretoria, in the early hours of Saturday.

A statement released by the SAPS said: “25 were shot, 11 confirmed, 14 people survived and all are in hospital. The South African Police Service has launched a manhunt for three unknown suspects. The dead include three minors, including boys aged 3 and 12, and women aged 16. The remainder of those killed are adults. The incident occurred in an illegal shebeen.”

According to local media reports, the incident occurred just after 4.15am, but police were only notified at around 6am.

“We immediately mobilized our resources, including forensic and ballistics experts who were at the scene. Our detectives and the Serious and Violent Crime Unit are piecing together information on what may have led to this shooting,” SAPS national spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe was quoted as saying by the country’s leading media outlet, Independent Online (IOL).

Citing Mathe’s statement, IOL reported that at least three unidentified gunmen entered the hostel where a group of people were drinking and started shooting randomly.

The SAPS spokesperson also highlighted the huge challenges posed by illegal and unlicensed drinking establishments.

“Between April and September this year, we closed 11,975 unlicensed liquor outlets across the country and arrested more than 18,676 people who were found selling illegal liquor,” the official was quoted as saying by IOL. he said.

Last month, seven people were killed in a mass shooting in Cape Town, Western Cape Province, South Africa.

The incident occurred on the R53 Road in Philippi East, a suburb in Cape Town’s Cape Flats district; here, seven men ages 20 to 30 were fatally shot in what authorities described as a “senseless act of violence.”

Following Jo’burg, Cape Town has also seen an increase in gun violence and gang-related murders in recent months; This has led to warnings from civil society that the Western Cape Province, of which Cape Town is the capital, is facing a full-blown crisis.

Escalating gun violence in Cape Town in September, which left at least a dozen people dead in the metropolis over more than a week, led the local government to close selected minibus taxi routes for 30 days, Xinhua news agency reported.

(IANS entries)