Johannesburg shooting incident: Massive gunfire in Soweto bar leaves 15 dead and more injured

On Sunday, July 10, 2022, a mass shooting at a bar in Johannesburg left at least 15 people dead and several others injured. Three people with life-threatening injuries are being treated at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital.

According to eyewitnesses, a bunch of men in a cab arrived at the Orlando East Tavern in Soweto in the early hours of Sunday and shot indiscriminately at the patrons present in the bar. The gunmen reportedly entered the legally-operated bar with multiple weapons and opened fire on anyone in sight.

On Sunday morning, Johannesburg police arrived at the bar to remove the bodies of the deceased. They are investigating the reason behind this seemingly random mass shooting which claimed the lives of so many people.

Gauteng province police commissioner Lt. Gen. Elias Mawela said that the number of cartridges found indicated that the shooting was carried out by multiple armed gunmen. He told The Associated Press:

"The primary investigation suggests that these people were enjoying themselves here in a licensed tavern operating within the right hours. All of a sudden they heard some gunshots. That is when people tried to run out of the tavern. We don’t have the full details at the moment of what is the motive and why they were targeting these people."

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Eyewitness recounts the deadly Johannesburg shooting, calls it "pandemonium"

A fatal mass shooting took the lives of many in a suburban bar in Johannesburg on Sunday. A survivor who saw bodies fall all around him on the ground recounted his experience of the shooting, which killed his friend along with 14 other patrons.

According to him, a man carrying an AK-47 entered the bar and started to open fire "randomly." His friend, who was at the pool table with others, was "sprayed with bullets." The gunman was later joined by other 9mm-pistol-wielding men.

According to The Independent, the man saved his life by hiding under a table, surrounded by dead bodies. Remembering the horrifying night, he said:

"It was pandemonium. I hid under a table. Four dead people were lying near me. Their blood spilt on me."

According to police commissioner Elias Mawela, a high-caliber firearm was used in the shooting. The darkness of the bar made it more difficult for people to identify the suspects, he added.

National police spokeswoman Col. Dimakatso Sello confirmed that rifles and a 9mm pistol were used in the Johannesburg shooting. The deadly attack was one of two bar shootings that took place in South Africa in the early hours of Sunday.

According to Gun Free South Africa, at least 23 people are killed as a result of gun-related violence in South Africa daily. The Firearms Control Act 60 of 2000 regulates the possession of firearms by civilians in South Africa. People are granted a license after passing a competency test and a background check, which includes the checking of one's premises.

The Johannesburg shooting comes just two weeks after more than 20 teenagers were found dead in a tavern in East London. The cause of the deaths is yet to be released by the authorities.