Seventeen killed in 2 mass shootings in South Africa

At least 17 people were killed in a devastating mass shooting at two homes in a village in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province.

According to the police, 13 people were killed in one house, with all but one of the victims being women. In another homestead, four people lost their lives, and an additional victim remains in critical condition at the hospital.

The police reported that the victims were believed to be relatives and neighbors who had gathered to prepare for a traditional ceremony.

This tragic incident adds to the rising number of mass shootings in South Africa, sparking widespread concern and outrage. The authorities are working to apprehend those responsible for the heinous crime.

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Police said in a statement that the shootings occurred in two separate homes in the village of Lusikisiki and that in total, 15 women and two men had been killed.

“In one house 13 people were killed, which included 12 women and one man. In another homestead, four people were also killed,” the South African Police Service said.

The motive for the attacks was not known but police said they had begun a manhunt for the shooters.

Ten members of the same family, seven of them women and one a 13-year-old boy, were killed in a mass shooting at their home in the neighboring KwaZulu-Natal province last April.

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South Africa’s homicide rate is around 45 per 100,000 people, compared to around 6.3 per 100,000 in the United States. Most European countries’ homicide rates are around 1 per 100,000 people. South Africa recorded more than 27,000 homicides in the 12 months from March 1, 2023, to Feb. 28, 2024, which is more than 70 a day in the country of 62 million people.

Firearm laws are reasonably strict in South Africa, but authorities have often pointed to the large number of illegal, unregistered guns in circulation as a major problem.

With inputs from agencies.