Johannesburg — Unknown gunmen shot dead seven members of the same family, including three children, in an execution-style killing in their home in rural South Africa, police said on Thursday.
A five-year-old boy was among those killed in the shooting at a homestead in the eastern KwaZulu-Natal province late on Wednesday, police said. The eldest victim was a woman aged about 55, they said.
#sapsKZN PC, Lt Gen Mkhwanazi has deployed a Provincial Team to spearhead the investigations and a search for suspects who shot and killed 7 family members, including three children at Hlokozi area in Highflats on Wednesday night, 11/09.
“Police shall never rest until the… pic.twitter.com/HZMqTEDdKT
— SA Police Service 🇿🇦 (@SAPoliceService) September 12, 2024
The motive for the attack in the Highflats area, about 80 kilometres (50 miles) northwest of the coastal city of Durban, was not yet known.
“We are convinced as police that it was an execution. It was a planned murder,” provincial police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi told reporters outside the house.
Some of the victims appeared to have been shot in the head while on the floor, he said. “There was a total of about 25 bullets that were used.”
[WATCH] KZN Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi says their investigations into the massacre of seven Nkambule family members in Highflats is still wide. He adds that they are looking into the possibility of family conflicts, community tenders and history of the family.… pic.twitter.com/eRqsnuAFiL
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) September 12, 2024
The gunmen burst into the house as the family was watching television. They made one member of the family, who was outside the house, knock on the door and then opened fire once it was opened.
South Africa has one of the highest peacetime per capita homicide rates in the world.
Nearly 6 200 people were murdered in the country between April and June, according to police figures released in August.
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Source: AFP
Picture: X/@SAPoliceService
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