GUNMEN STORM PRETORIA HOSTEL, KILL 11 INCLUDING TODDLER IN BRUTAL ATTACK

Sat 06 December 2025:

Armed attackers stormed a hostel in Pretoria, South Africa, killing at least 11 people—including a three-year-old child—and wounding more than a dozen others.

Police said they had launched a “manhunt” for three people and were investigating whether the killings were linked to a bar within the hostel that may have been selling alcohol illegally.

The attack is the latest in a series of mass shootings in the country of 63 million people, which has one of the highest murder rates in the world.

“I can confirm that a total of 25 people were shot,” said a police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe of the early morning attack in Saulsville township, 11 miles (18km) west of Pretoria. She said 14 people had been hospitalised in the attack in which armed men shot indiscriminately.

[BREAKING NEWS] The death toll in the mass shooting at the Saulsville hostel in Pretoria has climbed to 12. Police remain on the scene as investigations intensify. Newzroom Afrika’s @NqobileMadlala_ has more. #Newzroom405 pic.twitter.com/k03tYgjscU

— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) December 6, 2025

Mathe added: “Ten died on this particular scene, and one died in hospital.” The victims also included a 12-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl.

South African police have been grappling with violence linked to illegal bars, known as shebeens, which often sell home-brewed drinks. With high levels of gun ownership, shootings linked to organised crime are common and police say they are often fuelled by alcohol.

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“These illegal shebeens are really giving us a problem as the police,” Mathe told the 24-hour eNCA news broadcaster. “Because a lot of murders are being reported at these illegal establishments.”

Forensic and ballistic experts and investigators were at the scene. “So we are on a manhunt. For now, we are looking for three suspects,” Mathe said.

Between April and September, more than 60 people were killed each day in South Africa, according to police data.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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