Police on Saturday stated that seventeen individuals died in two separate mass shootings on Friday evening that happened in shut proximity to one another within the small rural city of Lusikisiki, in South Africa‘s Japanese Cape province.
The nationwide police spokesperson Brig. Athlenda Mathe in a press release stated that the victims included 15 ladies and two males, whereas one individual was reported to be in vital situation and receiving remedy at a hospital, the Related Press reported.
“A manhunt has been launched to apprehend these behind these heinous killings,” Mathe added.
In accordance with the police, twelve ladies and one man have been killed in a single home, whereas three ladies and one man have been killed in one other. The authorities offered no particulars on a attainable motive behind these killings.
Video footage launched by regulation enforcement authorities revealed that the shootings occurred at two completely different homes located in shut proximity to one another throughout the similar neighborhood, and is described as a cluster of rural homesteads on the periphery of Lusikisiki.
South Africa’s murder charge is among the many highest globally, with mass shootings turning into extra frequent in latest occasions, typically focusing on people in their very own properties.
In accordance with the Related Press, South Africa recorded over 27,000 homicides, within the final 12 months from March 1, 2023, to February 28, 2024, which interprets to greater than 70 deaths per day in a nation of 62 million individuals.
Earlier within the month of April, ten members of the identical household, together with seven ladies and a 13-year-old boy, have been killed in a mass taking pictures at their house, in KwaZulu-Natal province.
