Johannesburg: Nine people have been killed in a shooting incident in the Bakersdale township, west of Johannesburg, South Africa. South African Broadcasting Corporation News reported this on Sunday.
According to Al Jazeera, police said in a report that gunmen opened fire indiscriminately at a tavern in a township near the city of Johannesburg in South Africa, killing at least nine people and injuring 10 others. In a statement issued on Sunday, police said that an operation is underway to find those involved in the shooting. The incident took place in the Bakersdale township shortly before 1 am local time.
"It is being reported that approximately 12 unidentified suspects in a white combi (van) and a silver sedan car opened fire on people present in the tavern and continued to fire indiscriminately while fleeing the scene," the police said in a statement. The police also clarified that the said tavern was licensed.
According to a report by the South African Public Broadcaster, the unidentified gunmen opened fire on customers sitting inside the tavern and on people on the streets outside. Gauteng Acting Police Commissioner Fred Kekana told SABC, "We are still busy recording statements. Our national crime and management team has arrived."
He added that officers from the provincial crime scene management team, the local Criminal Records Centre team, the Serious Crime Investigation Team and the Criminal Intelligence Department are also present at the scene.
The motive for the shooting is yet to be ascertained. Some media reports put the death toll at 10. Gauteng provincial police spokeswoman Brigadier Brenda Muridili told news agency AFP, "Ten people have died. We don't yet have full information about who the dead are."