Detectives from South Africa are looking into three different events in the Khayelitsha suburb of Cape Town, where it is thought that eight individuals were killed early on Wednesday morning, according to the police.
Out of a population of over 60 million, South Africa has one of the highest murder rates in the world, with about 20,000 murders reported annually.
The South African Police Service released a statement saying, “At approximately 06:00 (0400 GMT), police were contacted to a shooting incident at Ncumu Street, where the bodies of four males and one female were discovered with gunshot wounds.”
According to police, preliminary findings point to two instances that occurred two hours prior as a possible connection between the five fatalities on Ncumu Street.
Around 02:50, a man in his adulthood and his girlfriend were shot and killed in Feza Street… and shortly after that a 35-year-old male was shot and killed not far from the first scene,” police added.
Although they have not yet provided a reason for the deaths, police have stated that the same people may be at fault.
With 4.5 million licensed guns in the nation, the advocacy group Gun Free South Africa claims that 31 people are shot and killed on average every day.
(Reuters)
