9 people shot dead in South Africa

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA | Xinhua | Nine people were shot dead and eight others injured while they were drinking liquor Saturday night outside Rustenburg, North West Province of South Africa, local police said Sunday.

At around 9:15 p.m., local time, Saturday, five males and four females were shot dead at Popo Molefe informal settlement in Boitekong outside Rustenburg while drinking liquor, the police said.

“According to information available at this stage, a group of mainly Xhosa-speaking individuals were sitting in a yard drinking liquor when an unconfirmed number of Sesotho-speaking suspects opened fire on them. As a result, eight people died instantly while the ninth one was certified dead on arrival at the hospital. Moreover, eight persons were reported to be injured,” said the police in a statement.

Both Xhosa and Sesotho are Bantu languages.

No one has been arrested, said the police.

The police said they do not know the motive for the killing and are investigating the matter.