JOHANNESBURG, Sept 28 (Reuters) – The death toll from a tavern shooting over the weekend near Johannesburg has risen to 18 after another victim died in hospital, South African police said on Monday.
The shooting happened late on Saturday when suspects armed with AK-47 rifles opened fire at the tavern in Wedela township, about 80 km (50 miles) west of Johannesburg.
Police said in a statement that four of those killed had so far been identified: two South Africans and two nationals of Lesotho.
Violent crime remains a major challenge in South Africa despite efforts to curb one of the world’s highest per-capita murder rates.
Police are still searching for the perpetrators of the shooting but said they managed to get clear pictures of them. One line of inquiry is that the incident was part of a turf war between the heavily armed gangs that control the illegal gold-mining trade in the area.
Authorities are also investigating another weekend shooting near Cape Town in which 10 people were killed.
(Reporting by Sfundo Parakozov;Editing by Alexander Winning)
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