South Africa: Gunmen kill 8 at birthday party

BETTING À DAY

Gunmen opened fire on a group of people celebrating a birthday in a township in South Africa on Sunday, killing eight and injuring three, police said Monday.&nbsp ;

“The owner of the house was celebrating his birthday when two unknown persons, armed, entered” the property on Sunday evening in the port city of Gqeberha (south), formerly known as Port Elizabeth, “and started to shoot at the guests,” police described in a statement.

The gunmen “randomly fired at the guests,” police said, adding that “eight people died while three others are still fighting for their lives in the hospital. “The owner of the house is among those who died,” the same source added. Eastern Cape Provincial Police condemned the killing, calling it a “brazen disregard for human life”.

An investigation has been opened and a manhunt is underway. police said.

Police Minister Bheki Cele, National Police Chief Fannie Masemola and criminal experts are to visit the scene of the attack. the shooting Monday morning.

Shootings occur on a regular basis in South Africa, a country with one of the highest homicide rates in the world, fueled by gang violence and alcohol . 

South Africa saw a spate of shootings in 2022 that left nearly 20 people dead in separate bars in working-class suburbs of Johannesburg and the city from Pietermaritzburg (east).