Eastern Cape police are hunting for two men who shot and killed five family members in their sleep in a village near Mthatha on Friday night.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Siphokazi Mawisa said a husband and his wife were sleeping in a rondavel in Bityi, Ncenjana, around 8.30pm when two men burst in and sprayed them with bullets.
She said after shooting the couple dead, the shooters attacked occupants of a second dwelling on the property .
Opened fire on occupants of second dwelling
“They flounced out of the rondavel and started firing shots at the people who were sleeping in another house and fatally shot three, and left two injured.
“Two children that survived the attack [uninjured] managed to run away and inform the neighbours, who then alerted police. Two men and three women died while the two injured children were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment,” the statement continued.
She said the victims were asleep in two separate dwellings in the yard.
Detectives deployed to find the killers
Mawisa said provincial police commissioner Lieutenant General Nomthetheleli Mene has mobilised all available resources in pursuit of the perpetrators.
“SAPS is calling upon those who may have leads to come forward and assist the police in apprehending those behind the murders,” said Mene.
“I have instructed a team of seasoned detectives to hit the ground running and work tirelessly until the culprits responsible for this senseless killing are brought to justice.”
She also sent condolences to the family and loved ones of the “victims of this barbaric crime” and wished the injured children a speedy recovery.
