Twelve Gunmen Storm South African Tavern, Nine Killed and Nine Injured
Johannesburg tavern attacked in deadly mass shooting.
A meticulously coordinated mass shooting erupted in the early hours of Sunday, claiming the lives of nine innocent people and leaving another nine gravely injured when a group of twelve unidentified armed suspects launched a ruthless and indiscriminate attack on patrons at a popular tavern in Bekkersdal, a struggling township located west of Johannesburg near some of South Africa's historic and economically vital gold mining operations.
The assailants pulled up to the scene in two distinct vehicles—a white kombi minivan and a silver sedan—before rapidly disembarking and unleashing a sustained barrage of gunfire directly at individuals gathered inside and outside the informal bar, continuing to shoot randomly even as terrified victims attempted to flee or seek cover in the darkness.
Among the tragic fatalities was an unsuspecting driver employed by an online car-hailing service who had simply been parked outside the tavern waiting for potential passengers, becoming one of the unintended victims caught in the deadly crossfire alongside regular patrons unwinding over the weekend, as detailed by Gauteng provincial police commissioner Major General Fred Kekana in official updates.
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Investigators have yet to establish a clear motive for the premeditated assault, with no immediate claims of responsibility emerging and no obvious connections surfacing to known local gang rivalries or other disputes, leaving authorities to explore multiple angles while emphasizing the random and brutal nature of the violence.
Gauteng's specialized Serious and Violent Crime Investigations unit, working in close coordination with the highly skilled Crime Detection Tracing Unit, immediately initiated an extensive and urgent manhunt across the region for the dozen suspects who vanished from the scene moments after the carnage, deploying significant resources and vowing relentless pursuit to bring those responsible for the shocking bloodshed to justice.
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