The Soweto tavern mass shooting remains unsolved, two days after armed men barged into the nightclub and killed 15 innocent partygoers.
Soweto tavern mass shooting: This is what police know about the suspects
On Monday, police minister Bheki Cele held engagements with the Orlando East community, where residents voiced their concerns over safety and the absence of law enforcement in Soweto.
The minister confirmed that evidence collectors recovered more than 130 AK-47 shell casings from the crime scene, which was still blood-stained during his oversight visit.
Cele further noted that police are handling the investigation in correlation with another tavern shooting that took place in Katlehong, 41km south of the Mdlalose tavern tragedy, where two people were gunned down.
At this time, authorities have yet to make progress in identifying the suspects involved in the mass murder. However, Cele shot down links in the tavern shootings reported in Orlando East, Katlehong and Pietermaritzburg, KZN, where four people were killed this past weekend.
“There is a thinking that it was a coordinated event. We don’t have that information. We have separate issues. The Pietermaritzburg, Katlehong and Nomzamo killings took place in taverns. We believe they coincided rather than coordinated,” he said.
Moreover, this early on in the investigation, Cele ruled out terrorism as a possible motive behind the killings. The minister insisted the timing of the mass shootings was merely a coincidence and not a coordinated attack.
“We don’t believe that it was terrorism. It was brutal and violent criminality. We will have to have some evidence to confirm that it was terrorism,” he added.
While Cele admitted detectives are a long way from tracking down the people responsible for the Soweto tavern mass shooting, he did reveal that, so far, what is known about the suspects is:
- At least five gunmen were involved in the mass murders
- Three AK-47 assault rifles may have been used in the attack
- The mass shooting has all the hallmarks of premeditation
- The suspects arrived and fled in a Toyota Quantum
Investigations into the tavern shooting are still ongoing, and to restore calm to a shaken community, Cele deployed SAPS’ tactical response team to survey the region for criminal activity.