Police said they were investigating reports that a group of men arrived in a minibus taxi and opened fire on some of the patrons at the bar shortly after midnight on Sunday. The injured have been shifted to Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital. The number of bullets found at the scene suggests a group of people opened fire on the bar, said Gauteng provincial police commissioner Lt.-Gen. Ilias Mavela. People gather at the scene of the shooting in Soweto. (Shiraaz Mohamed/The Associated Press) “The initial investigation shows that these people were having fun here, in a licensed tavern that was open during the correct hours,” Mawela told The Associated Press. “Suddenly they heard some gunshots. That’s when people tried to run out of the tavern. We don’t have full details at the moment on what the motive is and why they were targeting these people,” he said. . “You can see that a high-caliber firearm was used and it was firing randomly. You can see that all these people were struggling to get out of the tavern,” Mawela said. A woman cries at the scene of the overnight shooting at a tavern in Soweto, South Africa. (Shiraaz Mohamed/The Associated Press) The area where the shootings took place was very dark, making it more difficult to locate people who could identify the suspects, he said. Rifles and a 9mm pistol were used in the attack, said national police spokesman Colonel Dimakatso Sello.
2nd shot
In another incident, four people were shot dead by unknown gunmen at a tavern in Sweetwaters township in the coastal town of Pietermaritzburg on Saturday night. According to the police, two men entered the tavern and opened fire at random on the patrons, killing two people who were at the scene, while two others were confirmed dead at the hospital. Police said 8 other people are being treated at a hospital. The dead were aged between 30 and 45 and police are investigating charges of murder and attempted murder, police said. “The team will be working around the clock to identify and bring to book those responsible for this shooting,” KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Major General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi said. The bar shooting comes two weeks after 21 teenagers were found dead in a pub in the East London town. The cause of those deaths has not yet been released by authorities, but the teenagers were not shot or crushed in a riot, officials said.
