Fifteen people have died following a devastating shooting at a bar in Soweto, South Africa.
As reported by BBC News, at least 15 people have died and several others critically injured after gunman began to fire "randomly" into the Orlando East tavern in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Officials say a group of men arrived at the bar in a white minibus taxi, before opening fire on Johannesburg’s Soweto township patrons shortly after midnight.
According to the New York Post, Gauteng province police commissioner Lt. Gen. Elias Mawela said: "The primary investigation suggests that these people were enjoying themselves here, in a licensed tavern operating within the right hours.
"All of a sudden they heard some gunshots, that is when people tried to run out of the tavern. We don’t have the full details at the moment of what is the motive, and why they were targeting these people."
Officials believe the victims to be aged between 19 and 35 years old. Those who were injured were rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment.
CNN reports that police are yet to determine a motive for the attack.
"I have no doubt that with the cooperation of the community here, we will be able to crack this case," Mawela added.
Following the shooting, the gunmen fled the scene in the white minibus.
Per BBC News, local resident Ntombikayise Meji said: "Bodies were on top of each other with blood all over. We were looking for our loved ones, we had to jump over bodies looking for our brother.
In a press release from the Gauteng province police office, the suspects are said to have been armed with rifles and 9mm pistols.
The identities of the suspects still remain unknown.
Soweto community leader Thaban Moloi has reportedly voiced his anger regarding the amount of time it took for police to arrive at the bar.
Moloi said: "It's terrible, I'm telling you. People don't know what to do. If you were there you could see women and children crying." He claims it took "five hours" for officers to arrive at the scene.
Police have also confirmed that another four people were killed on Sunday in a separate tavern shooting in the south-eastern province of KwaZulu-Natal.
Addressing both tragedies, President Cyril Ramaphosa said in an address that, "as a nation, we cannot allow violent criminals to terrorize us in this way, regardless of where such incidents may occur."
"As government, citizens and structures of civil society we must all work together even more closely to improve social and economic conditions in communities, reduce violent crime and stamp out the illicit circulation of firearms," Ramaphosa added.
The heartbreaking death toll over the weekend comes just weeks after 21 people were found dead in a tavern in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. BBC News reports that the victims in that case are believed to have been killed by gassing or poisoning.
Our thoughts go out to everybody affected by this tragedy.
