JOHANNESBURG, Dec 21 — Nine people were killed when unknown gunmen opened fire at a bar outside Johannesburg early today, police said, in the second such shooting in South Africa this month.

Ten more were wounded when around a dozen men attacked the tavern at Bekkersdal, in a gold mining area around 40 kilometres southwest of the city, just before 1am (2300 GMT).

Police initially said 10 people were killed but later revised the toll downwards.

The attackers in two vehicles “opened fire at tavern patrons and continued to shoot randomly as they fled the scene,” a police statement said.

The dead included a driver from an online car-hailing service who had been outside the bar, provincial police commissioner Major General Fred Kekana told SABC television.

A manhunt for the attackers had been launched, police said.

South Africa, the continent’s most industrialised nation, is grappling with entrenched crime and corruption driven by organised networks.

Shootings are common and often fuelled by gang violence and competition between informal businesses, contributing to one of the highest murder rates in the world.

On December 6, gunmen stormed a hostel at Saulsville township near the capital Pretoria, killing a dozen people including a three‑year‑old child.

Police said that shooting was at a site that was illegally selling alcohol.

Many South Africans own licensed firearms for personal protection but there are many more illegal guns in circulation despite relatively strict ownership laws.

An average of 63 people were killed each day between April and September, according to police data.

Most deaths stemmed from arguments, with robberies and gang violence also driving the toll.

In one of the deadliest recent incidents, 18 relatives were shot dead at a rural homestead in the country’s Eastern Cape province in September 2024. — AFP