Eleven killed in mass shooting at house in South Africa

ByBasillioh Rukanga and Pumza Fihlani, Reporting fromJohannesburg. 23 September 2026, 07: 23 BST.

Key points

• At least 11 individuals have been killed in a mass shooting in a residential building near the South African city of Durban.
• Gunmen stormed a house in the KwaMakhutha township late on Tuesday and opened fire on 14 individuals.
• South Africa has one of the world's highest murder rates, with police data showing a murder rate equivalent to more than 60 deaths a day.
• 'Gifts' from a lover and 'botched' cocaine raids: Police inquiry grips South Africa.
• Although South Africa has long had a high murder rate, mass shootings are a more recent difficulty and elicit climbed feelings of unsafety, fear and shock.

Gunmen stormed a house in the KwaMakhutha township late on Tuesday and opened fire on 14 individuals. Ten were killed at the scene and four were taken to hospital, where one afterwards died from their injuries, police stated.

Police remarked some of the victims were on their watch in connection with illegal activities. It they could not "divulge at the moment to protect investigations which have been launched".

While the motive of the shooting has not yet been confirmed, the police remarked they could not rule out a "feud between rival groupings".

"Information available at this stage suggests that 13 men and one woman, who is believed to be pregnant, were reportedly having a party inside a house when three men arrived and opened fire on them, " the police remarked in an official note. The woman is among those who died.

Notably, a local TV reporter from the eNCA channel at the scene remarked the gunmen had set fire to a vehicle belonging to one of the victims before fleeing, with footage showing the burnt-out car.

For context, the police say they have introduced a manhunt for the suspects. This person were stated to be carrying pistols and rifles.

In recent weeks, the gruesome discovery of at least nine murdered women, with some of the bodies dumped by the roadside, has heightened fears in the country.

Last year, nine individuals were killed in a mass shooting at a tavern in Johannesburg.

Rivalry among criminal gangs against the backdrop of turf wars, drug trafficking and illegal mining is common in the country, often driving violence within communities.

As he unveiled that he would be deploying the army to backing the police, in February, President Cyril Ramaphosa remarked organised crime was "the most immediate threat to our democracy, our society and our economic development".

Notably, the phenomenon has led to calls for the administration and law enforcement authorities to do more to dismantle organised crime networks and, in some cases, "murder for hire" syndicates – believed to be among the leading instigators of the attacks.

Much has additionally been stated regarding improving the economic conditions that produce crime an attractive enterprise for some.

There are no straightforward answers for how to solve South Africa's crime challenge but security experts believe that the high proliferation of illegal guns, insufficient visible policing in high crime spots, the slow pace of justice and allegations that senior politicians and police officers have links to criminal gangs all add to the pervasive sentiment that local authorities are losing the fight against crime. You may additionally be interested in. Grim discoveries of murdered women spark fear in South Africa. 'Enough is enough': Women protest after string of murders near Johannesburg.

Go to BBCAfrica.com, external for more news from the African continent.

Taken together, the developments around eleven killed in mass shooting at house in South Africa point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.