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
A decade after Brazil’s deadly dam collapse, Indigenous peoples demand justice on the eve of COP30 - 2Step by step instructions to Choose the Right Internet based Degree Program for Your Future
- 3Fundamental Home Exercise center Hardware: Amplify Your Exercises
- 4Finding China: Four Urban areas for a Remarkable Excursion
- 5Comet C/2025 K1 (ATLAS) breaks apart in incredible telescope photos
- She just became the first wheelchair user to travel to space
- EU agrees on agriculture safeguards as fronts harden in Mercosur deal
- Geminid meteor shower 2025 peaks next week. Here's what you need to know about this year's best meteor shower
- Israeli strike on Gaza City vehicle kills at least four, report says
- Exclusive-Head of Pemex's production arm to step down in coming days, sources say
- Weight-loss pill approval set to accelerate food industry product overhauls
- Material of Innovativeness: A Survey of \Releasing Your Imaginative Potential\ Online Workmanship Course
- The Most Well known Online Entertainment Forces to be reckoned with of 2023
- Abbott issues US device correction for some glucose monitors over faulty readings risk
