Atteridgeville hostel mass shooting: Shebeen owner, child (3) among victims - SAPS

WARNING: THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS GRAPHIC DETAILS

Police have confirmed that the owner of a shebeen and her three-year-old child are among the 25 people shot during a mass shooting in Atteridgeville.

Eleven people were killed when gunmen opened fire at a tavern at the Saulsville hostel, west of Pretoria, in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Three minors, aged between 12 and 16, are also among the dead.

It’s anything but a normal day in Atteridgeville, as community members try to make sense of a mass shooting that has left dozens of families shattered.

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The entire hostel has been cordoned off with police tape, while the bodies of those killed remain on the scene with multiple gunshot wounds.

A police helicopter hovers above the hostel while dozens of officers patrol the area.

Police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe says the motive remains unclear.

We are looking for three unknown suspects. We have a multi-disciplinary team of police officers and ballistic experts on the scene and to find those that are behind the shooting."

Videos circulating in the community show bodies piled inside the tavern, with blood covering the floor.

FAMILY LOSES RELATIVE, TWO OTHERS HOSPITALISED

A family that lost a loved one in the Atteridgeville mass shooting is struggling to come to terms with the tragic death of their son.

This, while two other relatives remain in hospital.

Residents at the hostel said the first gunshot rang out around 4am, followed by multiple shots, screams and panic.

A community member said she immediately knew something was terribly wrong, but a phone call she received a few hours later left her completely shattered.

“I received a phone call, and I was informed that my relatives were shot. Two of them are in hospital as we speak, but one of them died. I received this phone call around 6am.”

The tavern’s owner is also fighting for her life in hospital, while her three-year-old child died at the scene.