Eleven people arrested following South Africa tavern shooting

Eleven suspects were arrested in connection with a mass shooting that left nine dead in a tavern in South Africa on Sunday.

Police have launched a manhunt for the 12 unidentified gunmen who opened fire on customers around 1:00 a.m. local time (23:00 GMT Saturday) at the Bekkersdal establishment, near Johannesburg.

On Wednesday, Provincial Assistant Commissioner of Police Major General Fred Kekana said nine of the arrested suspects were Lesotho nationals, while one was from Mozambique.

Another suspect, believed to be a South African minor, was also arrested.

Murders in South Africa – which has one of the highest rates in the world – are often the result of arguments, thefts and gang violence.

If the attack seemed “unprovoked” at the time, preliminary investigations now appear to suggest a motive linked to internecine wars linked to illegal mining.

During the attack, gunmen continued shooting as people fled the tavern, killing two people as well as a taxi driver who had dropped off a passenger nearby.

During the arrests, several unlicensed firearms, including an AK-47 rifle, were found in the suspects’ possession.

There are around 3 million legally owned firearms in South Africa and at least the same number of unlicensed guns, according to statistics cited by Gideon Joubert of the South African Gun Owners Association,

Although 2025 saw a decline in reported mass shootings, there has been a significant increase in incidents in which four or more people are killed or injured since 2020, Claire Taylor, a researcher at campaign group Gun Free South Africa, told the BBC.

Among the most common locations for these attacks are licensed taverns or illegal drinking establishments, known locally as shebeens.

Sunday’s shooting came just two weeks after another attack on the Saulsville hostel in the capital Pretoria, where eleven people including a three-year-old child were killed.