Gunmen Kill 12 in Johannesburg Massacre as Shooting Lasted More Than an Hour
At least 12 people have been killed in a mass shooting at a Johannesburg informal settlement after more than ten gunmen arrived in a minibus, entered the community from both sides simultaneously and opened fire across multiple locations in an attack that lasted more than an hour — with police launching a manhunt as residents described the area as increasingly gripped by gun violence.
The South African Police Service confirmed the death toll from the attack at Jumpers Informal Settlement in the Cleveland suburb of Johannesburg, which began at approximately 11.10pm on Tuesday. Eight adult men and three adult women were declared dead at the scene, with a twelfth victim later dying in hospital. At least nine others were transported to medical facilities with gunshot wounds.
According to police, more than ten suspects were dropped off by a white Toyota Quantum near a petrol station in Cleveland before splitting up and entering the informal settlement through both access points. They then moved through the area opening fire on residents at multiple locations before fleeing in the same vehicle. No arrests have been made. The motive remains unknown.
A resident told South African news network eNCA that the gunfire lasted for more than an hour and that shootings in the area had been growing more frequent, with a community leader shot dead as recently as May. Police commissioner Tommy Mthombeni declined to link the killings to illegal mining activity until the investigation was complete, but acknowledged the criminal nature of the attack. “We are still investigating, but what we have seen here is a criminal act. We have deployed all required units,” he said.
Cleveland has established connections to illegal mining activity around Johannesburg — a sector long associated with organised gang violence in the city’s surrounding areas. Shootings at informal settlements in South Africa are a persistent and documented problem, frequently linked to gang disputes and the illegal mining networks that operate across the Gauteng region.
The attack is the latest in a series of high-profile mass shootings in South Africa in recent months. In December last year, nine people were killed outside a bar in Bekkersdal, close to some of South Africa’s largest gold mines, and 12 people were killed at a bar inside a hostel in Saulsville township near Pretoria. Both incidents involved multiple gunmen. In May, two people were shot dead at the Zamimpilo informal settlement in Riverlea, south of Johannesburg.
South Africa’s gun violence statistics provide grim context. According to Gun Free South Africa, approximately 33 people are shot dead every day in the country, with around three million firearms registered to citizens and roughly 24 guns reported lost or stolen daily. Provincial and district detectives, supported by crime intelligence and forensic experts, have been mobilised to investigate Tuesday’s attack and track down the suspects.
