Seventeen people were killed in a mass shooting in a remote South African town with a manhunt under way to find the perpetrators, police say.
Two homesteads in the town of Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape were targeted, police said, with 12 women and one man killed in one location, and three women and one man at a second location.
An 18th victim is in a critical condition in hospital, the South Africa Police Service said.
The police ministers and commissioner were due to give a national briefing at 13:00 Saturday local time (12:00 BST).
South Africa has one of the highest murder rates in the world, with about 20,000 murders recorded every year out of a population of over 60 million.
Police said in a statement that the shootings occurred in two separate homes in the village of Lusikisiki and that in total, 15 women and two men had been killed.
“In one house 13 people were killed, which included 12 women and one man. In another homestead, four people were also killed,” the South African Police Service said.
The motive for the attacks was not known but police said they had begun a manhunt for the shooters.
South African media outlets are reporting the victims were relatives and neighbours in Nyathi village, Ngobozana in Lusikisiki.
They said the group had been gathered at the houses to prepare to attend a traditional mourning ceremony when they were attacked on Friday night.
News outlet Dispatch Live quoted local Ingquza Hil mayor Nonkosi Pepping saying: “The gunmen came and shot randomly killing everyone. Women and children were also killed in the bloody shooting.
“This has left the community terrified.”
By Agencies
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