Gunmen Kill 17 at Wedela Township Bar in Mass Shooting Southwest of Johannesburg

At least 17 people were killed and 15 others wounded when eight armed suspects opened fire at a bar in Wedela township, southwest of Johannesburg, police said. The attack took place around 9.30 p.m. on Saturday night.

According to police, the gunmen were armed with AK-47 rifles and pistols. They first shot at patrons outside the bar before moving inside to continue firing. The dead included 13 men and four women.

The attackers searched some of the patrons and took their mobile phones before escaping in two vehicles, police said.

The shooting has left residents of the township shaken. Local resident Siyabonga Nondabula said the area had seen shootings between rival gangs in the past, but nothing on this scale involving community members.

"There were some shooting there and there between, as they've said Zama-Zama gangs. So now that it involves community members, and as a result of that over 17 people and even more have died, this has never happened here. So I feel very sad and traumatized," Nondabula said.

Another resident, Victor Mangaliso, described hearing the gunfire and the panic that followed. Speaking in isiZulu, he said he wanted to go out to look for his daughter, who was outside at the time, but luckily saw her jumping the fence as she returned from her partner's house.

Mangaliso said he was left traumatized, particularly because of his heart condition, and called on the government to intervene in the area. He suggested the military be deployed for three months to improve the situation, saying that people were killing children.

Officials in hazmat suits were seen combing the scene, where burnt vehicles, torn clothes and damaged chairs remained. Police officials were also present at the site.

South Africa has long struggled with high rates of violent crime, recording some of the highest homicide rates in the world. While killings are a longstanding problem in Africa's most advanced economy, experts say mass shootings are becoming more common, with recent attacks often carried out by multiple gunmen. The series of mass shootings this week has come as a shock to the country.