Authorities in Cape Town’s Khayelitsha township are currently probing three separate incidents believed to involve a total of eight fatalities early Wednesday morning, as stated by the police.
South Africa, grappling with one of the world’s highest murder rates, witnesses approximately 20,000 homicides annually within its population of around 60 million.
The South African Police Service revealed that at approximately 06:00 (0400 GMT), law enforcement responded to a shooting on Ncumu Street, where they discovered the bodies of four men and one woman bearing gunshot wounds.
Preliminary inquiries indicate a potential connection between the five deaths on Ncumu Street and two earlier incidents.
Around 02:50, an adult male and his partner were fatally shot on Feza Street, followed shortly by the shooting death of a 35-year-old male in close proximity to the initial scene.
Though motives remain undisclosed, authorities speculate that the same perpetrators may be involved in all three instances.
According to Gun Free South Africa, an advocacy organization, an average of 31 individuals fall victim to gun violence daily in the nation, which counts 4.5 million licensed firearms.
