Two separate mass shootings near South Africa’s two biggest cities killed at least 27 people, police said Sunday (September 27, 2026).

The South African Police Service said 17 people were killed Saturday (September 26, 2026) night when eight suspects armed with AK-47 rifles and pistols opened fire at a bar in Wedela township, southwest of Johannesburg. At least 15 others sustained gunshot injuries in that attack, police said.

In a separate statement, police said 10 people were killed in a mass shooting at a store in Lwandle, near Cape Town, around 1 a.m. Sunday (September 27, 2026). Another 11 were wounded in that shooting. Police said they were searching for multiple suspects in that case also, though they didn’t give an exact number.

The two shootings come just days after a mass shooting by three gunmen at a house party near the east coast city of Durban killed 11 people, including a pregnant woman.

No arrests had been made in the two latest mass shootings, police said.

South Africa has struggled with high rates of violent crime for years, but the series of mass shootings this week were shocking even to a country used to some of the highest violent crime rates in the world.

 Two separate mass shootings near South Africa’s two biggest cities killed at least 27 people, police said Sunday (September 27, 2026).

The South African Police Service said 17 people were killed Saturday (September 26, 2026) night when eight suspects armed with AK-47 rifles and pistols opened fire at a bar in Wedela township, southwest of Johannesburg. At least 15 others sustained gunshot injuries in that attack, police said.

In a separate statement, police said 10 people were killed in a mass shooting at a store in Lwandle, near Cape Town, around 1 a.m. Sunday (September 27, 2026). Another 11 were wounded in that shooting. Police said they were searching for multiple suspects in that case also, though they didn’t give an exact number.

The two shootings come just days after a mass shooting by three gunmen at a house party near the east coast city of Durban killed 11 people, including a pregnant woman.

No arrests had been made in the two latest mass shootings, police said.

South Africa has struggled with high rates of violent crime for years, but the series of mass shootings this week were shocking even to a country used to some of the highest violent crime rates in the world.

Multiple attackers killed 12 people and wounded at least nine others in a late-night mass shooting in the South African city of Johannesburg, police said on Wednesday (June 10, 2026).

Police believe more than 10 suspects were dropped off in a minibus in an informal settlement in the Cleveland suburb of Johannesburg late on Tuesday night (June 9, 2026) and opened fire on people.

Police said the ‌suspects entered the settlement from two access points and ‌opened fire at multiple locations ​before fleeing in the same vehicle.

The victims were nine males and three females, according to police. Eleven of them died at the scene and the 12th died in the hospital. Police are searching for the attackers, and no arrests have been made. The motive for the shootings was not yet clear, they said.

Informal settlements in South Africa are unplanned residential areas usually made up of shacks or similar structures.

(With inputs from Reuter, AP)