10 Family Members Killed in South Africa Shooting

Improve the News Foundation -

Facts

  • On Friday, gunmen stormed a homestead in a township outside the South African city of Pietermaritzburg, in the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province, and ambushed a family, killing 10 people, police said.1
  • Seven women and three men were killed in the attack, including a 13-year-old boy. Police revealed the oldest victim was 65, but did not provide the other victims’ ages. The police also recovered three guns from the scene.2
  • A male suspect was killed in a shootout with police hours after, and two men were arrested. A fourth suspect escaped, but his identity is known and is being sought according to police.3
  • Law enforcement reportedly located the suspects at the house of a witch doctor, where they sought refuge. Police did not cite a motive, but one of the suspects — who was shot dead — had been wanted for a long time.4
  • Friday’s massacre was the second mass shooting in the KZN province this week, as four people were shot and killed Thursday at another home in the port city of Durban.4
  • South Africa has one of the world’s highest murder rates, which KZN provincial spokesman Brigadier Jay Naicker called “totally unacceptable.” Around 200K murders are recorded every year out of a population of 60M.5

Sources: 1Reuters, 2ABC News, 3Associated Press, 4BBC News, and 5DW.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by Daily Investor. South Africa is one of the most dangerous and crime-laden countries in the global community, and its future does not look promising. Nearly every aspect of the country’s outlook is bleak, and trends suggest it will only get worse. Unfortunately, mass crime is the current norm in South Africa.
  • Narrative B, as provided by The African. South African leaders know that their country is experiencing a crime issue, and they are committed to reducing violence and corruption as much as possible. Some politicians have lofty goals of eliminating crime by the end of the decade. While that may be a bit too ambitious, many policies can significantly improve South Africa’s safety and put it on the right track. With the right leadership and cooperation, South Africa’s crime rate can reverse the current trend and go down.