Seventeen dead in shooting in South Africa
Police search for eight armed suspects after an attack on a tavern near Carletonville.
According to police, seventeen people have been killed in a shooting in Wedela, near Carletonville in South Africa. Eight armed suspects are being sought; the motive is still unknown.
The attack took place on Saturday evening at a tavern in the Wedela township, in the West Rand District of Gauteng province. According to South African news channel eNCA, shots were fired both inside and outside the venue. Police have launched a manhunt for eight suspects who have not yet been identified.
According to the available police figures, thirteen men and four women were among the seventeen dead. CNN Brasil, citing Reuters and the South African police, also reports fifteen injured. eNCA refers to more than a dozen injured people who were taken to hospitals.
Police say the suspects were armed with automatic rifles and pistols. According to eNCA, they fled in two vehicles after the attack. A robbery of visitors is also said to have taken place during the incident, but that part is still based on the initial police description.
The authorities have opened seventeen murder cases and fifteen cases of attempted murder. In addition, two cases of property damage are being investigated. No arrests have been reported so far and police have not disclosed a motive.
The reports began emerging in the early hours after the attack and may therefore still change. The exact number of injured people, the identities of the dead and the circumstances of the attack still need to be confirmed by the authorities. It is also unclear whether all eight people being sought were directly involved in the shooting.
For now, the case therefore primarily amounts to an ongoing criminal investigation. South African police are asking witnesses for information and are focusing on locating the suspects. Until they have been arrested and brought before a court, their involvement has not been legally established.
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The main facts have been confirmed by eNCA and CNN Brasil on the basis of police information. Details about the motive, identities and the precise circumstances remain uncertain and have not been presented as established facts.
- confirmed Seventeen people were killed at a tavern in Wedela. — Reported by eNCA and CNN Brasil. source
- confirmed Police are searching for eight armed suspects. — Mentioned in the initial police description as reproduced by both sources. source
- confirmed Thirteen men and four women were among the dead. — Reported by CNN Brasil on the basis of information from the South African police. source
- confirmed At least fifteen people were injured. — CNN Brasil names fifteen injured people; eNCA reports more than a dozen. source
- confirmed The motive is still unknown. — eNCA reports that police have not disclosed a motive. source
Editor's note
The death toll and the search for eight suspects have been reported by multiple independent sources. The number of injured people and the description of a possible robbery come from early reports and may still be revised.Sources
More on this in Dutch media
- NOS — „zuid-afrika gauteng”
- Het Parool — „zuid-afrika gauteng”
- Trouw — „zuid-afrika gauteng”