Two bar shootings in South Africa, where the assailants appeared to fire randomly at customers, left 19 people dead on Saturday night, according to a police count.
Gauteng Police Commissioner Mawela said the incident occurred shortly after midnight, when gunmen opened fire on revelers enjoying themselves at a club in the informal settlement of Nomzamo in Orlando. “At the moment, we don’t have any details about the motive for the attack, but as the investigation progresses, we hope to get more information,” he told local reporters at the scene
In Soweto, near Johannesburg, 15 young men, including two women, were killed when several assailants opened fire on the “fun-loving” crowd, while in Pietermaritzburg (eastern Zulu region), four people at a table were killed by men who opened fire indiscriminately.
The similar modus operandi intrigues investigators, even though shootings are common in South Africa, one of the world’s most violent countries, fueled by gang violence and alcohol.
In Soweto, Johannesburg’s largest historic township, southwest of South Africa’s economic capital, police were called in the night, around 12:30 a.m.
“When we arrived at the scene, we found twelve dead people with bullet wounds,” said Nonhlanhla Kubheka, a local police officer.
A dozen injured people were taken to hospital and three of them died soon after their arrival, she said.
The victims are young, aged between 19 and 35.
No details were available on the number of assailants. “They arrived and shot at the people who were having fun,” Kubheka, commander of the Orlando police station, the Soweto neighborhood where the tragedy took place.
“According to witnesses, they shot at random” before leaving in a white van, confirmed to AFP Elias Mawela, the regional police chief.
An investigation has been opened and the forensic police were still on the spot at midday to collect all possible clues.
