Another weekend, another tavern tragedy

Police in KwaZulu-Natal are investigating three counts of murder and one attempted murder after another tavern shooting.

Tavern shootings have become a regular occurrence, especially on weekends, in a country battling to respond to a scourge of gun violence and mass murders.

In the latest mass shooting, an off-duty police constable allegedly shot and killed three women and injured a man before turning the gun on himself at KwaMsane in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Police said they responded to reports of a shooting at a liquor establishment in the region. When they arrived, they found four bodies with gunshot wounds, and one victim with a gunshot wound who was taken to hospital.

“It is reported that the off-duty police constable also disarmed another man of his firearm during the incident. Both firearms were found at the scene.”

The cause of the shooting is so far unknown.

A few hours later, and in another part of the province, a man allegedly shot and killed three people at a grocery chain store in Eshowe.

The suspect, who is a former employee of the store, had gone in for an internal disciplinary hearing when he allegedly produced a firearm and shot three people.

They were declared dead at the scene, and a manhunt for the man is underway.

This latest tavern shooting comes weeks after eight gunmen armed with AK-47 rifles and pistols opened fire on patrons inside and outside Dora’s Tavern in Wedela, near Carletonville.

The shooting killed 18 people and left around two dozen injured.

Following the shooting spree, the gunmen were alleged to have searched the patrons to remove their cellphones and other valuables.

Police said 18 charges of murder, 18 of attempted murder, two of malicious damage to property, and armed robbery have been opened.

President Cyril Ramaphosa condemned recent mass shootings in Johannesburg and KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), saying security forces have been instructed to intensify efforts to bring down violent crime.

“This is the level of criminality that we must bring down, and our security forces are now going to continue pulling out all stops.

“It cannot go on like this, and the clear instruction to our security forces is that we must bring the levels of criminality and violence down.

Ramaphosa added that more should be done to bring crime and violence down in the country.

“We cannot be a country where people just pick up guns and start shooting at people at random, making the people of South Africa unsafe.

“This has to be brought to an end, and we will be taking the necessary actions to address this,” Ramaphosa said.

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