Ten people were killed when gunmen assaulted a family at their farmhouse in a township outside of Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, according to police on Friday.
Police released a statement in which they stated they had detained two individuals in connection with the shooting, which claimed the lives of seven women and three men. They did not provide a reason for the killing.
A fourth suspect was fatally shot when approached by officer, according to the authorities, while a third suspect managed to flee. The suspects’ identities were not immediately revealed.
A 13-year-old kid was the casualty who was the youngest.
Out of a population of 60 million, South Africa has one of the highest murder rates in the world, with over 20,000 murders being reported annually.
“This is a crime scene, how awful. In remarks aired from Pietermaritzburg in the KwaZulu-Natal region on state broadcaster SABC, Police Minister Bheki Cele lamented that “too many people were lost here.”
Cele suggested that police management have a meeting to discuss if the province needs more police resources.
At the site of the shooting, a photographer saw a mortuary van in the homestead’s yard where the corpses of the deceased were being put onto stretchers. Community people watched in worry.
In South Africa, where nearly 4.5 million weapons are registered, 30 people are shot and murdered every day on average, claims the advocacy organisation Gun Free South Africa.
Following a string of large-scale gun incidents in 2017, gunmen opened fire on a birthday celebration in the city of Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape, killing eight people and injuring three more.
