Ten people were shot dead at a shisanyama in Lwandle, Cape Town, on Sunday morning, only hours after 17 people were killed in a tavern shooting near Carletonville in Gauteng.
The two attacks brought the combined death toll to 27 in the space of a few hours, as investigators in both provinces searched for the gunmen responsible.
A shisanyama is an entertainment venue where patrons can enjoy food, including braaied meat. Police said gunmen walked into the Lwandle venue at about 1.46am on Sunday and opened fire on people inside.
Five people died at the scene. Five others later died after being taken to hospital. Eleven more people were being treated for gunshot wounds, according to police.
Western Cape police spokesperson Brigadier Novela Potelwa said detectives were working to identify and locate the attackers. No arrests had been made at the time of the latest update.
“Detectives are hard at work in search of the perpetrators of the shooting incident with no arrests effected yet,” Potelwa said.
Police had not released the names of the victims while their families were still being contacted.
“The identities of the deceased persons will be released once their next of kin are informed.”
The Western Cape police commissioner, Lieutenant-General Sizakhele Dyantyi, established a team made up of officers from several units to investigate the killings. The investigation is being led by serious and violent crime detectives.
Lwandle police opened cases of murder and attempted murder. The attempted murder charges relate to the 11 people who survived the attack but were being treated for their injuries.
Police had not announced a motive for the shooting, nor had they confirmed how many gunmen were involved or whether they knew any of the victims.
Earlier Gauteng tavern shooting
The Cape Town attack happened only hours after a separate shooting at a tavern in Wedela, near Carletonville on the West Rand in Gauteng.
Gauteng police launched a manhunt on Sunday for eight men who allegedly opened fire at the tavern at about 9.30pm on Saturday night. The suspects were reportedly armed with AK-47 rifles and pistols.
Police said the gunmen first shot at patrons who were drinking outside the tavern before entering the premises and opening fire on people inside.
Paramedics declared 17 people dead at the scene. The victims were identified as 13 men and four women. A further 15 people with gunshot wounds were taken to hospital for medical treatment.
No arrests had been made in the Gauteng case, and police said the motive for the shooting was not immediately known.
The two investigations were being conducted separately, and authorities had not said that the attacks were connected. The shootings took place at different venues and in different provinces, with the Cape Town attack occurring in the early hours of Sunday and the Gauteng shooting taking place on Saturday night.
Investigations continue
In both cases, detectives are expected to rely on witness accounts and other evidence gathered at the scenes to identify the suspects. Police have not released the names of the deceased in either incident while investigations and family-notification processes continue.
The Western Cape investigative team includes officers from several specialised units, while the Gauteng police have launched their own manhunt for the eight suspects linked to the Wedela shooting.
The high number of victims across the two attacks has placed further focus on violence at entertainment venues, where patrons were targeted while socialising. In Lwandle, five victims died at the scene and five later died in hospital. In Wedela, all 17 victims were declared dead at the tavern.
Police have urged anyone with information about either shooting to come forward. At the latest update, no arrests had been made in Cape Town or Gauteng, and the motives behind both attacks remained unknown.
Families were left waiting for official confirmation of the identities of their loved ones, while survivors received treatment for their injuries and investigators continued working to establish what happened at the two venues.