At least nine people have been killed and 10 injured in a shooting in the Bekkersdal township west of Johannesburg in South Africa.
Armed men in two vehicles reportedly opened fire at a tavern in the township and continued shooting as they fled the scene. A manhunt for the suspects involved in the shooting has been launched, the South African Police Service (SAPS) said in a post on X.
South Africa’s public broadcaster, SABC, initially reported that 10 people had been killed but later revised the death toll in a post on X.
“Ten people are dead. We don’t have a breakdown of who they are,” a police spokesperson for the Gauteng province, where the crime took place, told the AFP news agency earlier.
The incident occurred “just before 1.00am local time” (11.00 pm GMT), at the Tambo municipality, resulting in “nine people being killed and 10 being injured”, SAPS said.
“It is reported that about 12 unknown suspects in a white kombi and a silver sedan opened fire at tavern patrons and continued to shoot randomly as they fled the scene,” the police said.
“The tavern is licensed,” the statement added.
The motive for the shooting remains unclear, and authorities are working to identify the victims.
“Gauteng Serious and Violent Crime Investigations, together with Crime Detection Tracing Unit, have launched a manhunt for the suspects involved in a multiple shooting incident during the early hours in Bekkersdal on Sunday, 21 December 2025,” police said.
“We are still busy obtaining statements. Our national crime and management team has arrived,” Fred Kekana, acting commissioner of the Gauteng province, where the crime occurred, was quoted as saying by AFP.
The Independent has reached out to the South African Police Service for comment.
“The provincial crime scene management team has arrived, and a team from the local criminal record centre is here, so is our serious crime investigating team, crime intelligence and the provincial crime detective team is on scene,” Mr Kekana told SABC.
On 6 December, gunmen killed 12 people, including a three-year-old, at a Pretoria hostel reportedly selling alcohol illegally.