Mass shooting in KwaMakhutha left 11 people dead after three armed men reportedly entered a house where a group had gathered for a party, with police launching a 72-hour operation to find those responsible.
A pregnant woman was among 11 people killed in a mass shooting in KwaMakhutha township, south of Durban, after three armed men reportedly entered a house and opened fire on people attending a gathering.
The shooting happened late on Tuesday, September 22, at a house where the victims had gathered shortly before 11pm local time. Three other people survived the attack, according to police.
Thamsanqa Ntuli, the premier of KwaZulu-Natal province, said the victims were inside the property when the attackers entered and began shooting. The motive remained unclear as investigators worked to establish what led to the attack.
Police said they were pursuing a promising lead that could help identify those responsible.
The circumstances surrounding the shooting have left residents in KwaMakhutha struggling to understand how such an attack could take place in their community. Local television station eNCA reported that the attackers allegedly forced those inside into a room before opening fire. A car belonging to one of the victims was also reportedly set alight.
One local resident, speaking to the broadcaster, described the victims as people he had known while growing up.
“It’s shocking and sad. These are guys I grew up with. I can’t believe it. It’s like a movie,” he was quoted as saying.
Another resident said he had lived in the area throughout his life and had never witnessed anything similar.
The shooting has also prompted a renewed police response, with Acting Police Chief Puleng Dimpane ordering a 72-hour tracking operation aimed at locating and arresting the attackers.
“There is no place in our communities for the senseless taking of human lives,” Dimpane said in a statement, calling on police to use all available resources to pursue those responsible and bring them before the courts.
Ntuli said the deaths had left the KwaMakhutha community in deep shock and mourning.
The investigation remains ongoing, and police have not publicly established a motive or identified the suspects. The three people who survived the attack are expected to be important to the investigation as authorities work to reconstruct what happened inside the house that night.
The shooting adds to the sense of fear and grief surrounding a community now mourning 11 lives lost in a single attack, including that of a pregnant woman.
