Tragedy struck South Africa in the early hours of Sunday morning as unknown gunmen opened fire on a tavern in Soweto, Johannesburg, leaving at least 14 dead and nine wounded.
At around shortly after midnight in Orlando East, men armed with rifles and pistols entered the bar and began firing randomly at patrons sitting inside.
“Primary investigations suggest the people were enjoying themselves in the tavern… They just came in and shot at them randomly,” said Gauteng Police Commissioner Elias Mawela, confirming the incident.
Twelve persons reportedly passed away at the scene, and two others after arriving at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital.
The shooting is the second to occur at a tavern in South Africa in the last day, with another occurring in a tavern in Pietermaritzburg leaving four dead and eight wounded. This is coming two weeks after 21 teenagers died during another tavern incident in East London, a city on the southeast coast of South Africa.
Investigations are ongoing.