At Least 27 Killed in Separate Mass Shootings in South Africa’s Johannesburg and Cape Town

Seventeen died in a Wedela tavern attack and 10 more in Lwandle near Cape Town, as South Africa's gun violence crisis deepens

PGurus Newsdesk

September 27, 2026

Seventeen died in a Wedela tavern attack and 10 more in Lwandle near Cape Town, as South Africa's gun violence crisis deepens

Eight AK-47-armed gunmen opened fire at a Wedela tavern, killing 17, before a second attack killed 10 near Cape Town hours later

Gunmen killed at least 27 people in two unrelated mass shootings near South Africa‘s two largest cities within a span of a few hours, police said Sunday, the latest eruption of gun violence in a country already grappling with one of the world’s highest homicide rates.

The first attack took place late Saturday night in Wedela, a semi-rural township southwest of Johannesburg. Eight gunmen armed with AK-47 assault rifles and pistols opened fire on customers drinking outside a bar at around 9:30 pm local time, then moved inside to continue shooting. Seventeen people — 13 men and four women — were killed, and 15 others were wounded. Police said the attackers searched some victims and took their mobile phones before torching two vehicles and fleeing the scene.

Roughly four hours later, in the early hours of Sunday, a second attack struck a store in Lwandle township near Cape Town, killing 10 people and wounding 11 more. No suspects had been arrested in connection with either shooting as of Sunday, and police were searching for multiple gunmen in both cases.

A possible link to illegal mining

Deputy provincial police commissioner Major General Fred Kekana said one of the victims in the Wedela shooting had been sought by police in connection with a previous shooting at the same tavern last month, in which one person was killed and another wounded. Residents in the area, which is surrounded by land used for mining, said illegal miners — known locally as “zama zamas” — operate there, in a region where gangs are known to control the illicit gold trade. “The criminals think it’s a fashion. They want to make it something which we need to get used to, but that cannot be allowed and tolerated,” Kekana said at the scene, adding that police had obtained clear images of the suspects.

Part of a deadly pattern

Sunday’s shootings came just five days after a separate attack at a house party in KwaMakhutha township near Durban killed 11 people, including a pregnant woman. No arrests have been reported in that case either.

South Africa, a country of roughly 62 million people, recorded 12,734 homicides in just the first half of this year, according to official police statistics — among the highest rates in the world. While the country has long struggled with elevated levels of violent crime, experts say the specific phenomenon of mass shootings involving multiple gunmen has become increasingly common in recent years, with the resulting homicides disproportionately affecting the country’s poorest communities.

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