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South Africa's mass shooting crisis kills 38 in one week
Three cities hit by coordinated attacks in days as gang violence and illegal firearms fuel a national emergency.
In brief
Three cities hit by coordinated attacks in days as gang violence and illegal firearms fuel a national emergency. South Africa suffered thirty-eight deaths across three mass shootings in one week, highlighting a deepening crisis of organized crime and illegal weapons in a country already facing one of the world's…
Three cities, three attacks, one week
South African police reported mass shootings in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban that killed nearly forty people this week, with such incidents increasingly common in a country already known for high crime rates.
Cape Town and Johannesburg struck same night
On Saturday night, at least ten people were killed at a shisanyama near Cape Town while eleven others were injured. The same night near Johannesburg, seventeen people died when men with AK-forty-sevens burst into a township tavern.
Johannesburg attackers took phones and fled
Police said the perpetrators allegedly searched patrons and took their cellphones before fleeing in two unidentified motor vehicles. Two vehicles were also set alight during the incident. Police have not indicated a motive.
Durban house party attack killed eleven
Earlier in the week, eleven people including a pregnant woman were killed on Tuesday by multiple gunmen attacking a house party in Durban. Several people at the house were known to authorities as part of investigations into criminal activity.
Illegal guns fuel gang and zama-zama violence
Illegal guns are common in South Africa, where mass shootings are usually linked to gangs and organized crime, sometimes surrounding activities involving illegal gold miners known as zama-zamas. In June, twelve people were killed in a shooting blamed on turf wars between zama-zamas.
Crime becomes election issue as crisis deepens
South Africa averages sixty murders a day and has one of the world's highest murder rates. President Cyril Ramaphosa called organized crime the most immediate threat to democracy and deployed the army in worst-affected areas. South Africans head to polls in November for local elections where crime is expected to be a key issue.
“the most immediate threat to our democracy, our society and our economic development”
What matters most
South Africa suffered thirty-eight deaths across three mass shootings in one week, highlighting a deepening crisis of organized crime and illegal weapons in a country already facing one of the world's highest murder rates.
