South Africa | 14 Killed In Bar Shooting In Johannesburg's Soweto Township: Police

"We were summoned at 12:30 a.m. (2230 GMT) following the gunshot overnight Saturday and Sunday," said police lieutenant Elias Mawela.

Representational Image.

Source : Getty Images

Police claimed 14 people were murdered following a firefight in a pub in South Africa's Soweto area, near Johannesburg, news agency AFP reported.

"We were summoned at 12:30 a.m. (2230 GMT) following the gunshot overnight Saturday and Sunday," said police lieutenant Elias Mawela.

"When we arrived on the scene, 12 people were confirmed dead," he said.

Mawela stated that 11 others were carried to the hospital with injuries, but two subsequently died, bringing the total to 14.

The pub was located in the Orlando neighborhood of Soweto, Johannesburg's biggest township located southeast of the capital.

Police is looking into reports that a gang of guys entered in a minibus cab late Saturday night and opened fire on some of the guests at the pub. On Sunday morning, police were retrieving the remains of the slain and investigating what had caused the mass shooting, news agency AP reported.

According to Gauteng province police commissioner Lt. Gen. Elias Mawela, the amount of cartridges collected on the site suggested that the patrons were fired at by a group of people.

“The primary investigation suggests that these people were enjoying themselves here, in a licensed tavern operating within the right hours,” Mawela informed AP. 

“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,” he said.

“You can see that a high caliber firearm was used and it was shooting randomly. You can see that every one of those people were struggling to get out of the tavern,” he further said.

(With Inputs From Agencies)