Two mass shootings in South Africa leave 28 dead

At least 28 people have died in two separate mass shootings across South Africa within hours of each other, the latest in a series of violent incidents that have alarmed authorities already battling entrenched gang activity and illegal firearms, according to the BBC.

The first attack unfolded on Saturday evening when a group of eight armed men opened fire outside a bar near Johannesburg before continuing the assault inside the building, according to the BBC. Eighteen people were killed and 14 others were wounded. The attackers set two vehicles alight as they made their escape, the BBC reported.

Hours later, in the early hours of Sunday, a second shooting struck outside an entertainment venue in a township near Cape Town, leaving 10 people dead and 11 injured, according to the BBC. Five of the victims died at the scene, while five others succumbed to their injuries in hospital.

Gauteng Police Commissioner Lt Gen Tommy Mthombeni said that while most of those affected by the Johannesburg attack were South African nationals, victims from Ethiopia and Lesotho were also caught up in the violence, the BBC reported. Only four of the dead had been formally identified as of Sunday morning.

Investigators believe robbery may have driven the Johannesburg shooting, noting that belongings had been stolen from victims, according to the BBC. However, officials said they could not dismiss the possibility that the killings stemmed from disputes between illegal mining operations, which remain widespread across the country. A deputy provincial police commissioner suggested separately that the attack could have been retaliation linked to a prior incident last month in which one person died, according to the news agency AFP, as cited by the BBC. Authorities said they had gathered photographic evidence and, in some instances, names of suspects, though no arrests had been made in either shooting by Sunday morning.

Illegal mining in disused shafts and dump sites continues to pose a major safety and security challenge in South Africa, with authorities saying such operations are frequently staffed by undocumented migrants brought in by organized crime networks, according to the BBC.

The two latest shootings followed closely on the heels of another deadly incident in Durban, where 11 people were killed after gunmen stormed a house in the KwaMakhutha township, the BBC reported.

South Africa continues to record some of the highest murder rates in the world, with roughly 60 killings reported daily across the nation of 62 million people, according to the BBC. Illegal firearms remain widespread, and much of the violence has been tied to competition between gangs involved in drug trafficking and unauthorized mining ventures.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has previously described organized crime as one of the most serious threats facing the country, warning earlier this year that it endangers the nation's democratic institutions, social stability and economic progress, according to the BBC. In response to soaring violence, the government deployed the military alongside police units earlier this year in regions with the highest murder rates.

Separately, police in Ekurhuleni, east of Johannesburg, said Saturday that a tenth woman's body had been discovered in the area, with investigators unable to rule out the possibility that a serial killer is operating there given similarities among the deaths, according to the BBC.