South Africa mass shooting left at least 11 people dead after three assailants opened fire at a house party in KwaMakhutha township, south of Durban, police said Wednesday.
The attack happened late Tuesday night when people gathered at a home in the township, about 30 kilometers south of Durban on South Africa’s east coast. According to police, the suspects entered the house and began shooting at those inside before fleeing the scene.
One of those killed was a woman believed to have been pregnant, police said. Three other people were wounded in the attack.
Police said they were searching for the three suspects and that no arrests had been made. The circumstances surrounding the shooting were still being investigated, including what prompted the attackers to target the gathering.
Authorities said some of the people inside the house were known to police in connection with separate investigations into criminal activity. Police did not provide further details about those investigations, and there was no immediate confirmation that those individuals were the intended targets of the attack.
“Although the motive of the shooting cannot be confirmed yet, feud between rival groupings cannot be ruled out,” police said in a statement.
The shooting adds to a series of deadly attacks involving multiple victims in South Africa in recent years. In June, multiple suspects killed 12 people in a poor neighborhood in Johannesburg in another mass shooting.
South Africa has struggled with persistently high levels of violent crime and one of the world’s highest murder rates. Police and government officials have repeatedly faced pressure over the country’s ability to curb gun violence and organized criminal activity.
The KwaMakhutha shooting is likely to renew those concerns as investigators work to establish who carried out the attack, why the house was targeted and whether the victims were connected to any ongoing disputes or criminal networks.
For now, police have not publicly identified the suspects, and the investigation remains ongoing.
