two shootings break out in bars, at least 18 dead

Night of violence in South Africa. Two shootings in bars across the country have left at least 18 people dead, authorities announced on Sunday (July 10th). It is not yet known whether the two events are linked.

One of these shootings, which broke out overnight in a bar in Soweto, near Johannesburg, left at least 14 dead according to South African police. The authorities were called in the night, around 12:30 a.m. “When we arrived there, twelve people were dead, with gunshot wounds”, said a police official. Eleven injured were taken to hospital and two of them died there shortly after their arrival, she added in the early morning.

No details were available on the attackers. “They arrived and shot people who were having fun”, commented the commander of the Orlando East police station in Soweto, the largest township in Johannesburg, where the tragedy took place. The police made no arrests and an investigation was opened.

Earlier, a first shooting had broken out on Saturday around 8:30 p.m. in Pietermaritzburg, in the east of the country. At least four dead and eight injured have been recorded, according to the police. “At 8:30 p.m., a group of people were having drinks in a tavern and a car parked in front”said an official in a press release. “Two men jumped out of the car, entered the bar and opened fire indiscriminately on the customers”he added.

Twelve people were affected: two died on the spot and two others died in the process at the hospital, he said. The other eight remain hospitalized. Those killed are between 30 and 45 years old. An investigation has been opened.