Bar Mass Shooting Leaves 12 Dead, Including Three Children

A deadly shooting at an unlicensed bar near South Africa’s capital left at least 12 people dead over the weekend, including three children. The victims were a 3-year-old boy, a 12-year-old boy, and a 16-year-old girl.

Another 13 people were injured and are being treated in local hospitals. Police have not released details about their ages or conditions. The death toll was updated after one of the victims died in the hospital.

The attack happened early Saturday morning at a bar inside a hostel in Saulsville, a township west of Pretoria. Ten people died at the scene, and two more later in hospital. Authorities say they are searching for three male suspects.

According to police spokesperson Brig. Athlenda Mathe, at least three gunmen entered the hostel while patrons were drinking and opened fire randomly. The motive is still unknown. The shooting occurred around 4:15 a.m., but police were not alerted until nearly two hours later.

South Africa struggles with some of the world’s highest homicide rates, recording more than 26,000 killings in 2024—roughly 70 a day. Firearms are the leading cause of murder, and although gun laws are strict, illegal weapons are widely used in crimes.

Mass shootings at bars, sometimes called shebeens or taverns, are increasingly common. In 2022, 16 people were killed in a bar in Soweto, Johannesburg, and on the same day, four others were killed in a similar attack in another province.

Mathe said police are cracking down on illegal bars. Between April and September this year, more than 11,000 unlicensed taverns were shut down, and over 18,000 people were arrested for illegal liquor sales.

Gun violence in South Africa is not limited to bars. Last September, 18 people—including 15 women—were killed in shootings at two homes on the same road in Eastern Cape province. Seven men were arrested, and authorities recovered three AK-style rifles believed to have been used in the attacks.

The Saulsville shooting highlights South Africa’s ongoing struggle with gun violence, especially in illegal drinking establishments, and underscores the deadly consequences of firearms falling into the wrong hands.