JOHANNESBURG — At least 15 people were killed and nine more were critically injured Sunday at a tavern in the South African town of Soweto, authorities said.
Gauteng Police said in a statement that the gunmen entered the Orlando East tavern shortly after midnight on Sunday and began firing “randomly” at a group of young people, the BBC reported. They then fled the scene in a minibus, police said.
The number of cartridges found at the scene indicates that a group of people opened fire in the bar, Gauteng province police commissioner Lt. Gen. Elias Mawela said.
“The primary investigation suggests that these people were enjoying themselves here, in a licensed tavern operating within the right hours,” Mawela told The Associated Press. “All of a sudden they heard some gunshots, that is when people tried to run out of the tavern. We don’t have the full details at the moment of what is the motive, and why they were targeting these people.”
Police said the men were armed with rifles and 9-millimeter pistols, CNN reported.
No motive for the attack has been established, police said.
The victims are believed to be between 19 and 35 years old, according to the BBC.
The shooting comes two weeks after 21 teenagers were found dead in a tavern in the South Africa coastal city of East London. The cause of those deaths has not yet been announced by authorities, but the victims were not shot or trampled, authorities said.
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