Eight people were killed and three others were injured on Sunday when gunmen opened fire on a crowd of people celebrating birthdays in the southern port city of Gqeberha, formerly Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
According to police, the birthday celebrant was among those killed in the shooting.
The gunmen “randomly shot at guests” and “eight people died while three others are still fighting for their lives in hospital,” the police said.
Police confirmed that the ‘homeowner is among the deceased”.
“The owner of the house was celebrating his birthday when two unknown gunmen entered the yard” on Sunday evening “and started shooting at the guests,” police said in a statement.
As at the time this report was filed, the motive of the attack was yet unknown.
Nomthetheleli Mene, the provincial police chief for the Eastern Cape province, condemned the killings as “a blatant disregard for human life”.
An investigation into the attack has been launched, and police have said that a manhunt for the perpetrators is underway.
Later Monday morning, Police Minister Bheki Cele, National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola, and crime experts were set to visit the scene of the attack.
South Africa has one of the highest murder rates in the world, fueled by gang violence and alcohol.
Last year, nearly two dozen people were killed in a series of shootings at different bars in working-class suburbs of Johannesburg and the eastern city of Pietermaritzburg.