On Monday, police reported that eight people had been killed and three others injured when gunmen opened fire on a group of people celebrating a birthday at the weekend in a township in South Africa.
It is pertinent to mention here that among those who were fatally shot in the mass shooting in Gqeberha (formerly known as Port Elizabeth), the birthday celebrant was one of the victims.
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Police said in a statement that the owner of the house was celebrating his birthday on Sunday evening when two unknown gunmen entered the yard and began firing at the guests.
Police said the gunmen “randomly shot at guests,” resulting in eight deaths and three people in critical condition in the hospital, with the home owner among the deceased.
The police further said that the motive of the attack is yet unknown.
The provincial police chief of the Eastern Cape province, Nomthetheleli Mene, expressed his disdain for the killings, calling them “a blatant disregard for human life”.
Police have begun an investigation into the attack, and a manhunt for the perpetrators is ongoing.
In South Africa, with one of the world’s highest murder rates, shootings are unfortunately common, due to gang violence and alcohol consumption.
Last year, South Africa experienced a series of shootings that resulted in the death of approximately two dozen people in bars located in working class suburbs of both Johannesburg and Pietermaritzburg in the east.
