A pair of mass shootings in the rural town of Lusikisiki, in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province, has resulted in the death of seventeen individuals, as confirmed by national police spokeswoman Athlenda Mathe. The victims consisted of fifteen females and two males with another person critically injured and hospitalised.
The fatal incidents happened on Friday night and were reported to have occurred in two residences located in the same vicinity. Mathe stated that 13 victims, comprising of twelve females and a single male died in one household, whereas in the second household, another three females and male were murdered.
After the grisly executions, police have initiated a nationwide manhunt to find those responsible for the murders. These events add to South Africa’s already high homicide statistics, one of the largest in the world, with the country experiencing a surge in mass shootings, often taking place in private residences.
Just last April, ten people from one family, including seven females and a 13-year-old boy, were murdered in their house in the nearby KwaZulu-Natal province. South Africa reported a homicide rate of approximately 45 per 100,000 inhabitants, a stark contrast to the United States’ rate of 6.3 and Europe’s rate, averaging around 1.
From March 2023 to February 2024 alone, South Africa logged over 27,000 homicides, translating to more than 70 a day in a population of 62 million. Despite stringent firearm regulations, the abundance of unlawfully possessed and non-registered firearms in the country remains a significant issue according to authorities.