Two shootings in South Africa kill 27 as police investigate motives
The attacks near Johannesburg and Cape Town left 26 people injured. Police had made no arrests and had not established a definitive motive by Sunday morning.
Two shootings hours apart in South Africa killed 27 people and injured 26, according to police reporting cited by the BBC. Seventeen people were killed at a bar near Johannesburg on Saturday evening; 10 died in a separate attack outside an entertainment venue near Cape Town in the early hours of Sunday.
Eight gunmen reportedly opened fire on customers outside the Johannesburg-area bar before continuing the attack inside. Fifteen people were injured, and two vehicles were set alight as the attackers fled.
Police said they believed robbery may have been a motive in that attack because personal belongings had been taken. They were also examining possible disputes between illegal mining groups. A police official separately suggested it could have been retaliation for a killing and wounding the previous month. None of these explanations had been confirmed.
The Cape Town-area shooting killed 10 people and injured 11. Five victims died at the scene and five later in hospital. Police had made no arrests in either case by Sunday morning.
The attacks come amid persistent gun violence in South Africa, where some mass shootings have been linked to gang activity, drug trafficking and illegal mining. Police had not confirmed a motive for either shooting.
