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List of mass shootings in South Africa

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(Redirected from Goedemoed shooting)

This is a list of mass shootings that have occurred in South Africa. A mass shooting has various definitions, but is defined by South African police as an incident in which three or more people are shot with a firearm.[1]

Mass shootings in South Africa are mostly perpetrated by gangs, and are usually motivated by competition for turf and resources, as well as illegal mining.[1][2] Another cause are the long-standing conflicts between minibus taxi associations in the country.[1] They often result in revenge shootings.[1][2] Taverns are often targeted.[2][3]

A lack of essential police resources has been discussed as a cause of the slowed response to mass murders in South Africa, and a lack of detectives preventing proactive analysis of crimes.[2][3] A disconnect between policing and the communities they service has been pointed out as a possible influencing factor,[2] as has the rate of certified firearm theft.[3]

List

[edit]
Date Location Province Dead Injured Details
6 May 1927 Charlestown Transvaal 9–10[a] 3 1927 Charlestown shootings: Stephanus Swart killed five policemen and injured one when they arrived to arrest him on incest charges. He killed his stepdaughter, a neighbouring farmer, and his separated wife while on the run before killing himself.
26 November 1931 Bethlehem Orange Free State 6[a] 6 Cornelius Johannes Petrus van Heerden, armed with a saloon rifle and a revolver, held up a car driver. After the driver resisted, van Heerden shot him dead, and drove towards Bethlehem, shooting people on the road. After he was pursued by police, he killed himself.[4]
28–29 April 1975 Israeli Consulate in Johannesburg Gauteng 4 51 1975 Fox Street siege: David and Charles Protter, two Jewish South Africans, took hostages at the Israeli Consulate in Johannesburg. David Protter surrendered the next day.
15 November 1988 Pretoria Gauteng 8 16 Strijdom Square massacre: White supremacist Barend Strydom killed seven black men and an Indian man in central Pretoria, later saying he wanted to start a race war. He was later given amnesty and released.
20 January 1992 Ladysmith KwaZulu-Natal 9 19 1992 Ladysmith shooting: After an argument at his family's farm, Kallie Delport killed his father and a housemaid before shooting at passersby in the neighbourhood. Most of the victims were black, increading racial tensions in the area increased. Delport was subsequently arrested and sentenced to 39 years in prison.
25 August 1992 Prison complex in Goedemoed

Orange Free State 9[a] 4 On 25 August 1992, police constable L. S. Hasebeng, facing a rape investigation, killed eight people and injured four before killing himself. The dead included the commander of his station.[5]
19 July 1993 Germiston Gauteng ? ? A taxi was ambushed near a hotel, with the attackers (carrying AK-47s) forcing all passengers out. They then separated members of the ANC and PAC political parties; they were then marched into the veld and killed.[6]
22 August 1993 Germiston Gauteng 13 16 Three men opened fire with AK-47s on a group planning a burial; the shooting was near the location of the attack the prior month, and the attack was likely motivated as revenge. Prior to the shooting, rumors had appeared in the area that there would be a revenge attack against Xhosa speakers. All victims were Xhosa speakers.[6][7]
31 December 1993 Observatory Western Cape 4 7 Heidelberg Tavern massacre: Three Azanian People's Liberation Army (APLA) operatives entered the Heidelberg Tavern and opened fire on the crowd, killing three students and the owner of an adjacent restaurant who went outside to investigate the sounds of gunfire. Seven others were injured.[8][9]
26 July 1999 Anchor Comprehensive High School in Soweto Gauteng 3 0 Charles Raboroko, a business economics teacher at Anchor Comprehensive High School, was alleged to have shot and killed three of his colleagues. He was charged for the crimes, but was eventually ruled unfit to stand trial due to paranoid schizophrenia.[10]
16 September 1999 Tempe military base Free State 9[a] 4 1999 Tempe military base shooting: Lt. Sibusiso Madubela, a black soldier who had his pay suspended after he went AWOL following his father's funeral, opened fire at Tempe military base, deliberately targeting whites. He was then shot and killed by other soldiers. The resulting inquiry revealed widespread racial discrimination in the SANDF.
12 January 2000 Pretoria Gauteng 3 4 De Wet Kritzinger, a white supremacist, shot and killed three black people, injuring four, on a bus in Pretoria. He was sentenced to three life terms and 40 years in prison. Barend Strydom, who had been released, showed up to support him in court.[11][12]
9 February 2002 Mdantsane Eastern Cape 12[a] 6 On 9 February 2002, Bulelani Vukwana (also referred to as Bulelani Vukwane) shot to death 11 people and injured a further six in Mdantsane.[13][14] Vukwana, a security guard, had arrived at the home of his girlfriend, who had broken up with him, to persuade her to come back to him. After she refused to see him, an enraged Vukwana went to a nearby shebeen, where he shot and injured the owner and killed another man. Afterwards he returned to his girlfriend's house, where a family function was in progress, where he shot her point blank.[14][15][16]

He started shooting randomly at motorists and pedestrians, killing several people.[14][16] When he was spotted by police, he fired several shots at the officers and attempted to escape. He later killed himself by a shot to the head.[14]

1 July 2002 Postmasburg Northern Cape 4 9 Christo Brian Fortune, a dismissed policeman, stole firearms from a police station, and then randomly opened fire on the street and surrounding areas. Prior to the shooting, he had assaulted his wife. He was sentenced to four life terms.[17]
20 January 2003 Cape Town Western Cape 9 1 Sizzlers massacre: 9 people were killed and one was injured in an anti-LGTBQ hate crime.
19 October 2007 Polokwane Limpopo 4 0 Samson Mocheku Tsamago, a driver for the Seshego Hospital, shot and killed 4 officials at the hospital, including the CEO, in a possible retaliation for his dismissal from the job following a fatal hit and run. He used a gun stolen from the hospital's security guard.[18] He was sentenced to 18 years in prison.[19]
14 January 2008 Skierlik North West 4 8 2008 Skierlik shooting: Johan Nel, an Afrikaner teenager targeted black people in a nearby slum, killing four people, including two children, and injuring eight. He was sentenced to life in prison.
8 March 2020 Site B, Khayelitsha Western Cape 7 7 Khayelitsha tavern shooting: Seven people were shot dead in the morning at a tavern. A 32-year-old suspect was arrested the next day.
2 November 2020 Gugulethu

Western Cape 8 1 A mass shooting occurred on the afternoon of 2 November 2020.[20][21] It took place in a house in NY78, Gugulethu, Cape Town, South Africa and resulted in the death of eight people between the ages of 30 and 50 years old.[22][23] One additional victim was injured in the shooting.[24] Seven of the nine victims died on scene (3 women and 4 men)[23] whilst an eighth victim died later in hospital.[24]

Local residents reported to the media that the shooting was related to a gang conflict between the Guptas and the Boko Haram street gangs.[20] Other reports by local residents indicated that the killing was conducted by the Boko Haram gang targeting a local woman, killed on scene, who refused to pay extortion money to the gang.[20] Whilst the Gugulethu Development Forum stated that the killings were "drug-related."[23]

25 December 2020 Mount Ayliff

Eastern Cape 7–9 6–12 A dispute over minibus taxi routes was reported to have led to the shooting at the village of Mount Ayliff, Eastern Cape, on 25 December 2020.[25][26][27] The attack resulted in the death of between seven[25] and nine people,[28] and at least six people were reported injured.[25] According to reports most of the dead were from the nearby village of Nokhatshile.[25][26][27]

The SANDF was called in to assist the police in the search for suspects as they had escaped into the surrounding area following the incident.[26][29] The following day six suspects, injured in the incident, were arrested.[30] Seven suspects appeared before the Mount Ayliff Magistrates Court on charges relating to the incident on 28 December 2020.[31]

9 July 2022 Pietermaritzburg KwaZulu-Natal 4 8 2022 Pietermaritzburg shooting: Two men entered the Sweetwaters tavern and opened fire, before fleeing in a car. Two days later police arrested four suspects.
9 July 2022 Soweto Gauteng 16 7 2022 Soweto shooting: A group of men armed with rifles and a pistol arrived and opened fire on patrons in the tavern. The perpetrators fled the scene and were not apprehended.
29 January 2023 KwaZakhele

Eastern Cape 8 3 On 29 January 2023 a mass shooting happened at a private home in the KwaZakhele township of Gqeberha. The two gunmen opened fire on the guests who were attending a birthday party before fleeing the scene, resulting in the death of eight people. Initially, seven people were declared dead at the scene with an additional four people injured. One of the four injured people later died of their injuries in a hospital. The South African Police Service stated that the motive for the attack was unknown.[32][33][34]
28 September 2024 Lusikisiki Eastern Cape 18 5 2024 Lusikisiki shootings: 18 people were killed and five others were injured in two mass shootings at two homesteads in Lusikisiki. The first mass shooting killed four, while the second shooting killed thirteen.[35][36]
11 January 2025 Pienaar Mpumalanga 8 3 A tavern shooting killed six and injured three, and two later died at the hospital.[37]
12 January 2025 Gqeberha Eastern Cape 6 1 Six men dead and one woman wounded.[38]
19 April 2025 Marble Hall Limpopo 1 4 Five people were shot during a live music performance at a tavern. The tavern owner, who was shot several times, later died in hospital.[39]
1 November 2025 Boksburg Gauteng 6 3 Six people were killed when gunmen opened fire in a drive-by shooting in the suburb of Reiger Park. Police investigation ongoing.[40]
23 November 2025 Goodwood Western Cape 1 3 Four men were shot while driving in a suspected gang-related attack.[41]
6 December 2025 Saulsville Gauteng 12 13 2025 Saulsville shooting: Multiple gunmen opened fire at a hostel in Pretoria, killing 12 people and wounding 13 more.[42]
21 December 2025 Bekkersdal Gauteng 9 10 Nine people were killed and ten others were injured when a gunman opened fire at a tavern.[43]
22 January 2026 Ntabankulu Eastern Cape 4[a] 1 2026 Ntabankulu Primary School shooting: A former deputy principal entered the staffroom of Ntabankulu Primary School and opened fire before turning the gun on himself. Three teachers were killed and another seriously wounded.
9 June 2026 Johannesburg Gauteng 12 15[44] 2026 Johannesburg shooting: Twelve people were killed and at least fifteen[44] others were injured when a group of people opened fire in the informal village of Jumpers in Cleveland, a suburb of Johannesburg.[45][46]

Notes

[edit]
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Including the perpetrator

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 3 4 Lamb, Guy (18 July 2022). "Mass shootings in South Africa are often over group turf: how to stop the cycle of reprisals". The Conversation. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Bhengu, Cebelihle (8 August 2022). "Mass shootings not a new problem in SA, but they're on the rise - experts". News24. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 Nyathi, Cresencia; Nogwavu, Lelethu (22 January 2023). "SA's rise in mass shootings points to failure of crime intelligence". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  4. ↑
  5. ↑ "Elsewhere..." Tampa Bay Times. 26 August 1992. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  6. 1 2 Minnaar, Anthony (Spring 1993). "East Rand Townships Under Siege". Indicator South Africa. Vol. 10, no. 4. p. 69. hdl:10520/AJA0259188X_187. ISSN 0259-188X. Retrieved 28 September 2024 – via Sabinet.
  7. ↑ "Gunman slays 12 S. Africans and wounds 20". Reading Eagle. Associated Press. 23 August 1993. p. C14. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  8. ↑ Scheper-Hughes, Nancy (1994). "The Last White Christmas: The Heidelberg Pub Massacre". American Anthropologist. 96 (4): 805–817. ISSN 0002-7294.
  9. ↑ "Truth Commission - Special Report - TRC Final Report - Volume 2, Section 1, Chapter". sabctrc.saha.org.za. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  10. ↑ "School killings: accused unfit for trial". IOL. SAPA. 14 March 2000. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
  11. ↑ "Pta bus-shooter to stand trial". News24. 4 October 2002. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  12. ↑ "Bus murders racist - judge". News24. 2 May 2003. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  13. ↑ "12th shooting victim dies, one paralysed". IOL. 12 February 2002. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  14. 1 2 3 4 Donian, Denver (10 February 2002). "Mass murderer's victims named". IOL. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  15. ↑ "Deadly shooting spree in Sth Africa". TVNZ. 11 February 2002. Archived from the original on 17 May 2011. Retrieved 29 June 2008.
  16. 1 2 "Shooting rampage relived". Daily Dispatch. 11 February 2002. Archived from the original on 13 July 2003. Retrieved 29 June 2008.
  17. ↑
  18. ↑ Gallagher, Christina (27 October 2007). "Hospital gunman's sad legacy". IOL. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
  19. ↑ "Hospital killer sentenced to 18 years in jail". IOL. SAPA. 19 May 2009. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
  20. 1 2 3 Hyman, Aron; Nombembe, Philani (3 November 2020). "'Boko Haram' vs 'Guptas': winner-takes-all battle behind Gugulethu shooting". TimesLIVE. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  21. ↑ Fisher, Shamiela (4 November 2020). "Gugulethu mass shooting death toll rises to 8, police still hunting shooters". Eyewitness News. Archived from the original on 5 November 2020. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  22. ↑ Cruywagen, Vincent (3 November 2020). "Cape Town's Season of Fear : Gugulethu massacre: Gang sends out grim video message warning of more carnage". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  23. 1 2 3 Mkentane, Odwa (4 November 2020). "Gugulethu killings were drug-related, says forum". Cape Times. IOL. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  24. 1 2 "Gugulethu massacre where seven were killed 'barbaric', says Tina Joemat-Pettersson". IOL. African News Agency. 3 November 2020. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  25. 1 2 3 4 Shange, Naledi (29 December 2020). "Seven nabbed for Mt Ayliff Christmas massacre". TimesLIVE. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  26. 1 2 3 "Police rope in the SANDF as the search for perpetrators of Mount Ayliff taxi violence continues". SABC News. 26 December 2020. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  27. 1 2 Persens, Lizell (27 December 2020). "6 men arrested for Mount Ayliff shooting, more arrests expected". Eyewitness News. Archived from the original on 27 December 2020. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  28. ↑ Feni, Lulamile (29 December 2020). "9 dead, scores injured in Christmas day slaughter". HeraldLIVE. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  29. ↑ Mthethwa, Cebelihle (25 December 2020). "Mount Ayliff Christmas unrest: SANDF joins search for killers after 'taxi violence' leaves 7 dead, 6 injured". News24. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  30. ↑ Seleka, Ntwaagae (26 December 2020). "Mount Ayliff killings: Six people arrested for deadly Christmas Day clash between rival groups". News24. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  31. ↑ Mthethwa, Cebelihle (28 December 2020). "Mount Ayliff killings: Accused in court for Christmas Day attack where 7 died". News24. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  32. ↑ Gounden, Tamika (30 January 2023). "[UPDATE] Police launch manhunt for Gqeberha mass shooting suspects". Eyewitness News. Archived from the original on 30 January 2023. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  33. ↑ "Eight killed in mass shooting at birthday party in South Africa". Reuters. 30 January 2023. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  34. ↑ "South Africa birthday party shooting: Eight killed in Gqeberha, Eastern Cape". BBC News. 30 January 2023. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  35. ↑ Magome, Mogomotsi (30 September 2024). "No arrests in South Africa mass shootings as death toll rises to 18". Associated Press. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
  36. ↑ "17 people have been killed in 2 mass shootings in the same street in South Africa". Associated Press. 28 September 2024. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
  37. ↑ Cotterell, Gareth (11 January 2025). "8 people killed in Mpumalanga tavern shooting". The Citizen. Johannesburg. ISSN 1016-3956. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
  38. ↑ Bezuidenhout, Candice (13 January 2025). "No arrests after 6 men killed, one woman seriously injured in Eastern Cape mass shooting". News24. Cape Town. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
  39. ↑ "Tavern owner shot dead, four wounded at Marble Hall, Limpopo". SABC. 19 April 2025. Retrieved 19 April 2025.
  40. ↑ Patel, Faizel (1 November 2025). "Six dead, three injured in mass shooting in Reiger Park, Boksburg". The Citizen. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  41. ↑ "One dead and three injured in suspected gang shooting in Goodwood". Independent Online. 23 November 2025. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
  42. ↑ Holmes, Oliver (6 December 2025). "Gunmen kill at least 11 people including three-year-old in South African hostel". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
  43. ↑ "At least 9 killed, 10 wounded in shooting in South Africa - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. 20 December 2025. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
  44. 1 2 Gumede, Michelle (13 June 2026). "Mass shootings in South Africa: Organized crime thrives amid police failures, experts say". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
  45. ↑ Fihlani, Pumza; Jones, Mayeni; Lukiv, Jaroslav (10 June 2026). "Manhunt under way in South Africa after 12 killed in mass shooting in Johannesburg". BBC. Archived from the original on 10 June 2026.
  46. ↑ "MSN". www.msn.com. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
[edit]
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