Unidentified gunmen opened fire on a group of people celebrating a birthday in South Africa.
The incident happened over the weekend, in the southern port city of Gqeberha, formerly Port Elizabeth, killing eight and injuring three others, police said Monday.
The birthday celebrant was killed in the mass shooting.
“The owner of the house was celebrating his birthday on Sunday evening when two unknown gunmen entered the yard and began shooting at the guests,” police said in a statement.
The assailants “Eight people were killed, and three others are still fighting for their lives in hospital,” police said. The home’s owner is among those who have died “.
The attack’s motivation is still unknown. Nomthetheleli Mene, the provincial police chief for the Eastern Cape province, condemned the
killings as “a blatant disregard for human life”.
An investigation has been launched into the attack and police said a manhunt for the
perpetrators were underway.
Shootings are common in South Africa, which has one of the world’s highest murder rates,
fuelled by gang violence and alcohol.
South Africa last year saw a string of shootings that killed nearly two dozen at separate bars in
working-class suburbs in Johannesburg and in the eastern city of Pietermaritzburg.
Police Minister Bheki Cele, the national police commissioner Fannie Masemola, and crime
experts were scheduled to visit the scene of the attack later Monday morning.
Story by ModernGhana
