Police have launched manhunts after more than 10 people were gunned down mainly in taverns in three different provinces at the weekend.
On Saturday night, six men were killed and one was injured when gunmen opened fire on patrons seated outside a tavern in Daveyton, east of Johannesburg.
Gauteng police spokesperson Colonel Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi said the circumstances that led to the shooting are not known. No arrests have been made yet.
“It is alleged that the victims were sitting outside a tavern when a group of unknown men came from nowhere and started shooting at them,” said Nevhuhulwi.
“Six [men] were declared dead on the scene while one was taken to the hospital.”
In a separate incident, police in Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape have launched a manhunt following the killing of five people on Sunday.
This after a group of gunmen entered a backyard dwelling of the main house located in Koedoe Street in Gelvandale and sprayed the victims with bullets.
The deceased included three men and two women aged between 24 and 42.
Police said the motive for the attack is not clear, however, there is speculation that drugs were being sold at the house.
In Mpumalanga, police are in pursuit of two suspects who were involved in a shooting at a tavern in Kanyamazane outside Nelspruit.
Colonel Donald Mdhluli, spokesperson for police in Mpumalanga, confirmed that a man, who has not been identified yet, was fatally shot.
About 15 other patrons, said Mdhluli, sustained injuries after being shot. They were taken to the hospital for medical treatment.
“There could be more victims as others were rushed for medical treatment soon after the incident,” said Mdhluli.
“The bizarre incident occurred in the early hours of Sunday at around 12.06am.”
He added that according to information, two armed men wearing balaclavas stormed into a liquor outlet after midnight and opened fire indiscriminately.
After the shooting, the suspects are said to have fled the scene.
A case of murder with other counts of attempted murder has been opened and the motive for the shooting has not been established.
A team of investigators has already been assembled under the leadership of Lieutenant-General Semakaleng Manamela, the police commissioner in Mpumalanga.
“We are very much concerned about crimes that are being committed at liquor outlets, including crimes that are carried out near these liquor outlets,” said Manamela.
“We trust that our communities will come on board and share information that will assist in this investigation.”
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