In a devastating incident, 17 people, including 15 women, were killed in two separate mass shootings on the same street in Lusikisiki, a rural town in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province. The shootings occurred late Friday night or early Saturday morning, leaving the community in shock.
National police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe reported that one additional person is in critical condition at a hospital. Four women, a man, and a 2-month-old baby survived one of the shootings.
The first attack claimed the lives of three women and one man, with no survivors. Shortly after, a second shooting at a nearby home resulted in the deaths of 12 women and one man.
Authorities have launched a manhunt for the suspects, with a specialist team of detectives deployed from Pretoria to assist with the investigation. Police Minister Senzo Mchunu expressed confidence in the team’s ability to apprehend the perpetrators.
This incident highlights South Africa’s ongoing struggle with high homicide rates. In the first six months of this year, the country recorded 12,734 homicides, averaging over 70 deaths per day.
Mass shootings have become increasingly common in South Africa, with previous incidents including the killing of 10 family members in KwaZulu-Natal province in April 2023 and 16 fatalities in a Soweto bar shooting in 2022.
Authorities point to the prevalence of illegal, unregistered firearms as a major contributing factor to the violence, despite relatively strict gun laws in the country.