Eleven arrested over mass shooting in South Africa tavern

Eleven suspects have been arrested in connection with a mass shooting that left nine people dead at a tavern in South Africa on Sunday.

Police launched a manhunt for the 12 unidentified gunmen who had opened fire at patrons at around 01:00 local time (23:00 GMT Saturday) in the Bekkersdal establishment, near Johannesburg.

On Wednesday, provincial deputy commissioner of police, Major General Fred Kekana said nine of the arrested suspects are Lesotho nationals, while one is from Mozambique.

Another suspect, believed to be a South African mineworker, was also detained.

Murders in South Africa – which has one of the highest rates in the world – are often the result of arguments, robberies and gang violence.

While the attack appeared “unprovoked” at the time, preliminary investigations now appear to suggest a motive linked to illegal mining turf wars.

During the attack, gunmen continued to shoot as people fled the tavern, killing two as well as a taxi driver who had dropped off a passenger nearby.

Upon making the arrests, several unlicensed firearms including an AK-47 rifle, were found in the suspects’ possession.

There are about 3m legally held firearms in South Africa and at least the same number of unlicensed weapons, according to statistics cited by Gideon Joubert from the South African Gunowners’ Association,

Although 2025 has seen a decline in reported mass shootings, there has been a significant increase in incidents where four or more people are either killed or injured since 2020, Claire Taylor, a researcher at campaign group Gun Free South Africa, told the BBC.

Among the most common locations for these attacks are licensed taverns or illegal drinking spots, known locally as shebeens.

Sunday’s shooting occurred just two weeks after another attack at the Saulsville Hostel in the capital Pretoria, where eleven people including a three-year-old child were killed.