Gunmen killed seven people in a township outside the South African city of Cape Town early on Saturday in what police believe was an extortion-related attack.
The shooting occurred shortly after midnight in Marikana, an area within the crime-plagued Cape Flats. Police said the victims included one woman and six men aged between 30 and 50.
Three other people sustained gunshot wounds during the attack and were taken to the hospital for treatment.
In a statement, police said the assailants fled the scene after the shooting and no arrests had been made as of Saturday morning. A manhunt has been launched, while investigations into the incident are ongoing.
The latest attack adds to a series of mass shootings that have unsettled South Africa, a country of about 63 million people struggling with high levels of violent crime linked to organised criminal networks.
According to official police data, an average of about 63 people were killed daily between July and September last year. In December, two separate mass shootings — at a hostel and a bar — left at least 24 people dead, including several children.
The Cape Flats, where Saturday’s shooting occurred, is notorious for gang violence. More than 2,000 murders were recorded in the area in the first nine months of 2025 alone.
AFP
