4 killed, 8 injured in another attack on bar in South Africa

By Hassan Isilow

JOHANNESBURG (AA) – Four people were killed and eight others injured in another mass shooting at a bar in South Africa, local police said Sunday.

Two armed men stormed the pub in the Sweetwaters town in the southeast province of KwaZulu-Natal at 6.30 p.m. local time (1830 GMT) on Saturday and began fire on revelers. During the incident, at least 12 people received bullet injuries, according to police.

Earlier on Sunday, 14 people were killed in a mass shooting at a bar in the Soweto township near Johannesburg.

Elias Mawela, the Gauteng police commissioner, said nine people were also being treated at hospitals for gun wounds.

Mawela said the incident happened shortly after midnight when gunmen opened fire on revelers who were enjoying themselves at a club in the Nomzamo informal settlement in Orlando.

The two incidents came two weeks after the tragic deaths of 22 young people at a nightclub in the city of East London in the Eastern Cape province.

South Africa has the highest crime rates on the continent. At least 67 people are murdered every day in the country, according to the latest national crime statistics.

According to police, 1,403 people were killed in the Gauteng province, which includes the capital Pretoria and the largest city Johannesburg, from January to March.

Shootings are common in the country, where criminals and gangs have access to a large number of unregistered firearms.​​​​​​​