The death toll is 15 after a shooting in a bar Soweto in South Africa last night. According to preliminary information from the police, a group of killers fired “randomly” into the crowd.
A group of men arrived in a minibus taxi and started shooting at the bar, prompting those inside to try to escape. The police commissioner of the province of GautengLieutenant General Elias Mawel, told the AP news agency that police believe it was a group that attacked, based on the number of cartridges found at the scene.
22 young people found dead in South Africa in a night club
The carnage took place shortly after midnight, according to police who said the group of men stormed the Orlando East tavern. Strangers fled the scene and are now on the run, police said, adding that it was not clear how many were involved in the attack.
“It can be seen that a high caliber firearm was used and that it fired randomly. It can also be seen that people fought to leave the venue,” Mawela insisted to the AP.
23 people affected
He added that at present the motive for the attack is unknown. “Preliminary investigation suggests that these people were enjoying themselves here, in a licensed tavern that operated during statutory hours,” she said. Police said in a press release that 23 people were shot in total. They urged members of the public to come forward with any information about “unknown suspects following an apparent random shooting incident”.
Saturday’s shooting comes shortly after the mysterious death of 21 young people in a one-of-a-kind bar township in the South African coastal town of East London. The causes behind their death, which aroused great emotion internationally, remain unknown, but investigators have ruled out both a shooting and a stampede.