Eight people were killed and three others were injured when gunmen opened fire on a group of people in a South African township who were celebrating a birthday over the weekend, police said on Monday.
The birthday celebrant was one of the victims of the mass shooting in Gqeberha, a port city in southern South Africa that was originally known as Port Elizabeth.
When two unidentified gunmen “entered the yard” on Sunday night and “started firing at the visitors,” the home’s owner was “celebrating his birthday,” according to a statement from the police.
The Eastern Cape’s provincial police chief, Nomthetheleli Mene, criticized the deaths as showing “a clear contempt for human life.”
The attack is the subject of an investigation, and police say they are looking for the attackers. In South Africa, which has one of the worst murder rates in the world and is plagued by gang violence and alcoholism, shootings are frequent.
Last year, there were several shootings in South Africa that left close to two dozen people dead in various bars in working-class neighborhoods of Johannesburg and the eastern city of Pietermaritzburg.
Assault scene visits were planned for later on Monday morning with the national police commissioner Fannie Masemola, police minister Bheki Cele, and crime experts.
Police stated that the shooters “randomly shot at visitors,” and that eight people perished and three others were hospitalized and were still battling for their lives. One of those killed is the homeowner.
The attack’s motivation is still a mystery.