Nine people are killed and ten injured in an attack on a pub in South Africa

Nine people were killed and at least 10 others injured when gunmen opened fire in a South African pub early Sunday, sparking a manhunt for the attackers in the country’s second mass shooting in less than a month.

The shooting took place just before 1 a.m. at the KwaNoxolo tavern in Bekkersdal, a township 45 miles west of Johannesburg. Police said about a dozen unknown suspects in a white minivan and a silver sedan opened fire on bar patrons and continued shooting randomly as they ran from the scene.

“Some victims were shot dead randomly on the street by unknown gunmen,” police said.

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Major General Fred Kekana, acting provincial commissioner of Gauteng, told The Associated Press that the gunmen, some of whom covered their faces with balaclavas, were armed with an AK-47 rifle and several 9mm pistols.

Spectators gather at the scene of a mass shooting in which gunmen killed nine and injured at least 10 at a pub in Bekkersdal, South Africa, Sunday, December 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Alfonso Nqunjana)

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Authorities have launched a manhunt for the suspects, led by Gauteng’s Serious and Violent Crime Investigations Unit, in coordination with the Crime Detection Tracing Unit.

South African police gather at the scene of a mass shooting in which gunmen killed nine and injured at least 10 at a pub in Bekkersdal, South Africa, Sunday, December 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Alfonso Nqunjana)

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The attack follows a series of mass shootings in bars – often called shebeens or taverns in South Africa. Earlier this month, several gunmen opened fire in an unlicensed bar near the capital, killing at least 12 people and wounding 13 others.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.