17 people have died in shootings in eastern South Africa

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AFP) – South African police said Saturday they were launching a manhunt after 17 people were shot dead in a city in the country’s east.

“Thirteen people were killed in one house – 12 women and one man. In another case, four people were killed. “An 18th victim remains in a hospital in critical condition,” police said in a statement.

South African media said the mass shooting took place on Friday evening in the town of Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape province, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) southwest of Durban.

“We don’t know the motive” and “we don’t know if one or more suspects are on the run,” national police chief Fannie Masemola said on SABC public television.

In mid-September, seven members of a family, including three children, were shot dead in their home in KwaZulu-Natal, also in the east of the country.

The murderers in this matter have not been caught.