Hostel Saulsville township in the vicinity of Pretoria saw the murder of at least 11 people, including a three-year-old child, by gunmen, which has become another gruesome mass shooting in South Africa. The attack, which happened in the early-morning hours according to the police, saw 25 people being shot, with 14 of them being hospitalised. There was also a 12-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl among the victims.
Police are on a manhunt to get three suspects and are investigating the possibility that the murders are connected to an illicit bar that is operating inside the hostel. These places have since turned into zones of violence due to alcohol and the easy access to guns, which are popular in such places, called shebeens.
South Africa, with reported over 60 cases of murders in one day, is still struggling with increasing cases of gang-related shootings and organised crime. Police indicate that illegal bars greatly contribute to the increase in homicide cases and make it difficult to enforce. As officials increasingly pressure to put downward checks on the nationwide epidemic of violent crime, investigators on the scene continue to probe.
