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
The best overlooked performances of 2025 - 2This is Countdown, CNN’s newsletter covering NASA’s first time sending humans to deep space in over 50 years
- 34 Jeep Models: Dominating Execution and Flexibility for Each Experience
- 4KJ Apa stars as Jimmy Stewart in new biopic: See his transformation
- 5Volkswagen Just Revealed a Massive Range-Extended SUV for China, and America Isn’t Getting It
- Israel reports first missile fire from Yemen since start of Iran war
- Mexico says a third of 130,000 missing people might be alive, fueling criticisms by families
- Don't fall for it: These common tourist scams in Rome are easy to avoid if you know what you're looking for
- The Best 15 Applications for Efficiency and Association
- Disney's latest short film 'Versa' tackles a difficult subject: Pregnancy loss. It's resonating with viewers.
- FDA approves Wegovy pill for weight loss: What to know
- Undeniably popular Historical centers: Where Craftsmanship and History Meet
- How 2025 became the year of comet: The rise of interstellar 3I/ATLAS, an icy Lemmon and a cosmic SWAN
- The most effective method to Go Down Abundance through Ages with Disc Rates
