11 gunned down as mass shooting rocks South Africa

At least 11 people 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. A three-year-old is among the dead.

“At least three unknown gunmen entered this hostel where a group of people were drinking and they started randomly shooting,” 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 (14:30 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.

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. (BBC)