By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Seventeen people were killed in two mass shootings that took place in close proximity to each other in a rural town of Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape.
The shootings took place on Friday night, video footage released by police showed the shootings occurred at two houses in a collection of rural houses on the outskirts of the town.
Twelve women and a man were killed in one house and three women and a man were killed in the other house, police said.
“A manhunt has been launched to apprehend those behind these heinous killings,” SAPS national spokersperson Athlenda Mathe said.
Mathe did not give any details on a possible motive.
Fullview understand the shooting happened as families and neighbours had gathered to mark the end of their mourning period after a mother and daughter were murdered in the same village.
South Africa has one of the highest murder rates in the world, and mass shootings have become increasingly common in recent years, sometimes targeting people in their homes.
Ten members of the same family, seven of them women and one a 13-year-old boy, were shot dead at their home in the neighbouring KwaZulu-Natal province last April.
South Africa’s murder rate is about 45 in every 100,000 people, compared with around 6.4 in every 100,000 in the US. Most European countries’ homicide rates are about 1 for every 100,000 people. South Africa, which has a population of about 62 million people, recorded more than 27,000 homicides in the 12 months from 1 March 2023, more than 70 a day.
Police minister Senzo Mchunu and the National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola are currently briefing Gqeberha communities on the signing of an agreement with the Eastern Cape provincial government and the Nelson Mandela Bay metro to fight crime together.