South Africa’s many illegal guns a factor in bar shootings

South African police are patrolling the streets of Johannesburg’s Soweto township, following a spate of bar shootings that have rocked the nation.

The country’s abundance of guns held illegally is partially to blame for the shootings in which 22 people were killed at three different taverns this past weekend, community activists said.

At least 16 people were shot dead at a tavern in the township of Soweto while four others were killed in Pietermaritzburg and two were shot dead in Katlehong, east of Johannesburg. One of those wounded in the Soweto shooting died in hospital on Tuesday, raising the death toll in that incident to 16.

It’s not known if the different shootings are linked but regional and ethnic rivalries, an organized crime extortion ring, competition between bar owners and political enmities are all possible motivations for the shootings, say analysts.

In all three incidents, the suspects opened fire on patrons before speeding off in their vehicles and notably the attackers did not rob the victims.