At least 19 were found dead and eight others hurt in mass shootings that took place across two bars this past Saturday evening in South Africa.
The first of these shootings took place at roughly midnight local time in the Soweto township of Johannesburg, leaving over 15 people dead and a few others injured. The second took place in another bar out in Pietermaritzburg, resulting in the deaths of four other people and the wounding of eight more.
“The primary investigation suggests that these people were enjoying themselves here, in a licensed tavern operating within the right hours,” stated Lt. Gen. Elias Mawela, the police commissioner of the Gauteng province, to the Associated Press about the first of the two shootings.
“All of a sudden they heard some gunshots, that is when people tried to run out of the tavern. We don’t have the full details at the moment of what is the motive, and why they were targeting these people,” he explained. “You can see that a high caliber firearm was used and it was shooting randomly. You can see that every one of those people were struggling to get out of the tavern.”
Police officials have opened investigations into at least 14 cases of murder and none total cases of attempted murder, as reported by a statement from local law enforcement agencies. As of writing, no arrests have been announced for the Soweto shooting, with officials asking witnesses to give any available info they possess in order to help.
A few rifles, along with multiple 9mm pistols, were used for the shooting, as stated in the released report. It is still entirely unclear what weapons were used to carry out the second shooting attack.
The pair of shootings come in the wake of the deaths of more than 20 people found inside of a nightclub out in East London, South Africa. The cause of death for those victims is still thought to be under investigation, as the bodies that were found did not have any marks or visible injuries.
Additionally, both of these shootings took place just a scant few days after another mass shooting in Denmark at a shopping mall that resulted in the deaths of multiple people next to a venue that was scheduled to host a Harry Styles concert.
The incident took place at the Fields Mall in Copenhagen. Three people died in the attack, and another 24 were injured, as reported by The Washington Post.
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