Police Johannesburg. Credit line: dts Nachrichtenagentur / imago stock&people / Profimedia
A mass armed attack took place on Sunday in a town outside Johannesburg, South Africa's most populous city, local police said. Gunmen, who have not yet been identified, opened fire “at random”, killing nine people and wounding 10 others, The Guardian reports.
The motive for the attack in Bekkersdal, Gauteng province, 40 km southwest of Johannesburg, is unclear, police said.
“Some victims were shot at random in the streets by unknown gunmen,” a police statement said.
The shootings took place near a bar in Bekkersdal, a poor area located near major gold mines in South Africa.
This is the second mass armed attack in a matter of weeks. On December 6, gunmen attacked a guesthouse near the capital Pretoria, killing 12 people, including a three-year-old child. The police said then that the shootings took place in a place where alcohol was sold illegally.
South Africa, with a population of 63 million, has a high crime rate, including one of the highest homicide rates in the world.
