Nine people were killed and 10 wounded in an early morning shooting in a township south-west of Johannesburg and authorities have launched a manhunt for the suspects, the South African Police Service said on Sunday.
The incident occurred just before 1am local time (2300 GMT) at a licensed tavern in Johannesburg's Bekkersdal township, the police said in a statement.
About 12 unknown suspects in a white minibus and a silver sedan opened fire at the tavern patrons and continued shooting randomly as they fled the scene, the police said, adding the motive for the shooting would be determined by investigation.
The injured have been taken to medical facilities for treatment, police added.
The dead included a driver from an online car-hailing service who had been outside the bar, provincial police commissioner Major General Fred Kekana told SABC television.
Bekkersdal is part of the Rand West City local municipality, whose website describes the township as being an area characterised by high levels of unemployment and poverty due to a decline in gold mining.
South Africa, Africa's biggest economy, has one of the world's highest murder rates, averaging about 60 a day.
Shootings are common and often fuelled by gang violence and competition between informal businesses, contributing to one of the highest murder rates in the world.
On December 6, gunmen stormed a hostel at Saulsville township near the capital Pretoria, killing a dozen people including a three-year-old child.
Police said that shooting was at a site that was illegally selling alcohol.
Many South Africans own licensed firearms for personal protection but there are many more illegal guns in circulation despite relatively strict ownership laws.
An average of 63 people were killed each day between April and September, according to police data.
Most deaths stemmed from arguments, with robberies and gang violence also driving the toll.
In one of the deadliest recent incidents, 18 relatives were shot dead at a rural homestead in the country's Eastern Cape province in September 2024.
