The two attacks hours apart come as the country struggles to stop high levels of gang-related armed violence.
Gunmen torched vehicles as they fled the scene of a mass shooting at bar near Johannesburg
Published27 September 2026, 09:40 BST
Twenty-seven people have been killed in two mass shootings hours apart in South Africa, the latest gun violence to hit the country
Seventeen people were killed when eight gunmen stormed a bar close to Johannesburg on Saturday evening, with 15 more injured
In a separate shooting in the early hours of Sunday morning, 10 people were killed outside an entertainment venue in a township near Cape Town and a further 11 were injured
South Africa has one of the highest murder rates in the world and has struggled to contain gang-related gun violence in recent years. Police have not indicated a motive for either of the latest attacks
In Johannesburg, gunmen opened fire on customers outside the bar before continuing the attack inside and torching two vehicles before fleeing
Police said thirteen men and four women were killed
Deputy provincial police commissioner Maj Gen Fred Kekana said the attack may have been a retaliation for an incident last month, in which one person was killed and another wounded, according to AFP news agency
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Source: BBC News English
