Multiple gunmen open fire at a South African pub, killing 9 and wounding
10
[December 22, 2025]
By MICHELLE GUMEDE and ALFONSO NQUNJANA
BEKKERSDAL, South Africa (AP) Nine people have died and at least 10
others were wounded after a group of gunmen carried out a shooting at a
South African pub during the early hours of Sunday, authorities said.
The incident occurred just before 1 a.m. in the township of Bekkersdal
which is located 46 kilometers (28 miles) west of Johannesburg. It is
the second mass shooting in South Africa in three weeks.
About 12 unknown suspects in a white minibus and a silver sedan opened
fire at pub patrons at KwaNoxolo tavern, in the Tambo section of
Bekkersdal and continued to shoot randomly as they fled the scene,
according to police.
Some victims were randomly shot in the streets by unknown gunmen, the
police said of the incident that left nine people dead and 10
hospitalized.
Maj. Gen. Fred Kekana, the acting provincial commissioner of Gauteng,
told the AP at the scene that the gunmen, some of whom wore balaclavas,
had one AK-47 rifle and several 9-millimeter pistols.
Police did not release information about the victims, but police
spokesperson Brigadier Brenda Muridili confirmed that an e-hailing
driver was among those caught in the crossfire. She said the driver had
just dropped off a client.
He was shot and killed, she told The Associated Press.
The motive for the shooting is unknown. A manhunt for the suspects in
the multiple gunshot event has been initiated by Gauteng Serious and
Violent Crime Investigations in collaboration with the Crime Detection
Tracing Unit.
There have been several mass shootings at bars sometimes called
shebeens or taverns in South Africa in recent years, including a mass
shooting carried out by multiple suspects in an unlicensed bar near the
South African capital that left at least 12 people dead and 13 injured
earlier this month.
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South African police gather at the scene of a mass shooting where
gunmen killed nine and injured at least 10 in a pub in Bekkersdal,
South Africa, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/ Alfonso Nqunjana)
Another shooting killed 16 people in the Johannesburg township of
Soweto in 2022. On the same day, four people were killed in a mass
shooting at a bar in another province.
The second-largest political party in South Africa, the Democratic
Alliance, called for a special task force to probe the two recent
shootings in the province.
Surrounded by abandoned mine shafts, the Bekkersdal region is
notorious for illicit mining operations, which have led to serious
social problems, including gang violence and the proliferation of
illegal firearms.
With almost 26,000 homicides in 2024, or more than 70 per day on
average, South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates in the
world. Firearms are by far the leading cause of death in homicides.
Although the nation of 62 million has comparatively stringent gun
control laws, officials say many murders are carried out using
illegal firearms.
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Gumede reported from Johannesburg.
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