South African police say they are launching a manhunt after 17 people were shot dead in a town in the east of the country.
According to local media, the mass shootings occurred Friday night in the town of Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape province about 200 kilometres (125 miles) southwest of Durban.
Two homes were targeted in the shootings early Saturday in Ngobozana village in Lusikisiki, South Africa’s Eastern Cape province, the country’s police ministry, adding that six people, including a two-month-old baby, survived the attack.
“In one house, 13 people were killed, 12 women and one man. In another, four people were killed. An 18th victim is in critical condition in a hospital,” the police said in a statement.
“We do not know the motive” and “we do not know if there is one or several suspects on the run”, national police chief Fannie Masemola said on South African public television.
Mass shootings are common in South Africa where murder rate is at a 20-year high. The country also harbors one of the world’s highest murder rates.
According to recent police data, more than 6,000 people were murdered across the country between April and June this year.
