Gunmen stormed a hostel in South Africa’s capital, Pretoria, on Saturday, killing a dozen people, including a three‑year‑old child, at a site police said was illegally selling alcohol.
The attack is the latest in a string of mass shootings that have shocked the crime‑weary country of 63 million people, which suffers one of the highest murder rates in the world.
“I can confirm that a total of 25 people were shot,” police spokeswoman Athlenda Mathe said.
Ten had died at the scene in Saulsville township, 18 kilometres (11 miles) west of Pretoria, while two died in hospital, she said. The twelfth victim succumbed to injuries on Saturday afternoon.
Three gunmen entered what Mathe described as an “illegal shebeen” inside the hostel at around 4:30 am (0230 GMT) and indiscriminately fired at a group of men who were drinking. “Shebeen” is a word used to describe an informal bar or tavern.