A mass shooting at an unlicensed bar near Pretoria, South Africa, left 12 people dead, including three children, on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. The attack in Saulsville township, located 18 kilometers west of the administrative capital, marked another deadly incident of gun violence in a country grappling with one of the world’s highest homicide rates.
Police reported that 25 people were shot in total when multiple gunmen entered the bar inside a hostel and opened fire around 4:15 a.m. local time. Ten victims died at the scene, while two others succumbed to their injuries at the hospital. Another 14 wounded individuals were taken to medical facilities for treatment, though authorities did not release details about their ages or conditions.
Among the dead were a three-year-old boy, a 12-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl. The presence of children at the early morning gathering highlighted the dangerous conditions in unlicensed drinking establishments, locally known as shebeens, which operate without proper safety regulations or legal oversight.
South African Police Service spokesperson Athlenda Mathe told national broadcaster SABC that the gunmen randomly targeted people who were drinking inside the hostel. “We are told that at least three unknown gunmen entered this hostel where a group of people were drinking and they started randomly shooting,” Mathe said.
The shooting occurred at approximately 4:15 a.m., but police were not alerted until 6 a.m., creating a nearly two-hour gap that potentially delayed emergency response. Authorities launched a manhunt for three male suspects following the attack, though the motive for the killings remained unknown as of the initial reports.
Mathe emphasized that mass shootings at unlicensed bars have become a serious problem in South Africa. Between April and September of this year, police shut down more than 11,000 illegal taverns and arrested more than 18,000 people for involvement in illegal liquor sales. The enforcement efforts reflect growing concern over violence associated with unregulated drinking establishments where criminal activity often occurs.
South Africa faces a severe gun violence crisis, with more than 26,000 homicides recorded in 2024. This translates to an average of more than 70 people killed daily, with statistics from April through September showing 63 people killed each day during that six-month period. Firearms are by far the leading cause of death in homicides across the nation of 62 million people.
While South Africa maintains relatively strict gun ownership laws, many killings are committed with illegal weapons that circulate widely throughout the country. The availability of unlicensed firearms, combined with organized crime networks and gang violence, contributes to the persistently high murder rate that authorities struggle to contain.
Mass shootings at bars have occurred with disturbing frequency in recent years. In 2022, 16 people were killed in a shooting at a tavern in Soweto township in Johannesburg. On the same day as that incident, four people died in a mass shooting at a bar in another province, demonstrating the widespread nature of such attacks.
The violence extends beyond drinking establishments. In September of last year, 18 people were killed in mass shootings that occurred minutes apart at two houses on the same road in a rural area of Eastern Cape province. Fifteen of those victims were women. Seven men were subsequently arrested for those shootings and face multiple murder charges. Police recovered three AK-style assault rifles they believe were used in the attacks.
The Saulsville shooting underscores the challenges facing South African law enforcement as they attempt to address entrenched crime and corruption driven by organized criminal networks. The presence of children among the victims particularly shocked observers and reignited debates about the regulation of informal drinking establishments and the broader issue of illegal firearms.
As the investigation continues, authorities remain focused on locating the three suspects and determining what motivated the attack. The incident serves as another reminder of the public safety crisis facing South Africa, where robberies, gang violence and the proliferation of illegal weapons have created an environment where deadly mass shootings have become disturbingly common occurrences.
The manhunt for suspects continues as families mourn the loss of their loved ones and communities demand action to address the underlying factors contributing to South Africa’s ongoing violence epidemic.
