Johannesburg, 23 December (H.S.): South African police have arrested a 32-year-old man in connection with the mass shooting at an unlicensed tavern in Saulsville township near Pretoria, in which 12 people, including three children, were killed earlier this month, officials have confirmed.

The arrest marks the first major breakthrough in the investigation into one of the country’s deadliest recent attacks on a community bar.

Police said the suspect was intercepted on Sunday while travelling towards Botlokwa in Limpopo province, more than 340 kilometres from the scene of the killings on 6 December. He was stopped on the R101 near Westenburg during a targeted operation by a specialised Limpopo tracking team.

Officers recovered an unlicensed handgun from the vehicle, which investigators believe may have been used in the tavern shooting. The weapon has been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory for ballistic analysis to determine whether it matches cartridges and bullets recovered at the crime scene.

In the early hours of 6 December, at least three gunmen stormed an unlicensed pub, or “shebeen,” in the Saulsville area west of Pretoria and opened fire indiscriminately on patrons. Twelve people were killed, among them children aged 3, 12 and 16, and at least 13 others suffered gunshot wounds, according to police.

Witness accounts and initial police reports indicate that around 25 people were shot in a matter of moments, with ten victims dying at the scene and others succumbing to their injuries in hospital.

The motive for the attack remains unknown, and investigators are still searching for at least two additional suspects believed to have taken part in the shooting.

The Saulsville killings form part of a disturbing pattern of mass shootings at unlicensed bars across South Africa in recent years, often involving illegal firearms and leaving bystanders trapped in sudden bursts of gunfire.

Authorities say such venues, which operate outside formal regulation, frequently lack proper security and become flashpoints for violent disputes.

In a separate incident on Sunday, gunmen opened fire on patrons at a pub in the Bekkersdal township west of Johannesburg, killing nine people and wounding ten others, underscoring how quickly such attacks can recur even as police hunt suspects in earlier cases.

Investigators have launched a manhunt for the assailants in that shooting as well, with no arrests announced so far.

South Africa continues to record one of the highest homicide rates in the world, with more than 26,000 killings in 2024, averaging over 70 murders per day.

Firearms remain the leading cause of death in homicides, despite a comparatively strict legal framework for private gun ownership.Police say mass shootings at illegal taverns have become a serious law-and-order challenge, prompting intensified enforcement drives against unlicensed liquor outlets. Between April and September alone, officers closed more than 11,000 illegal taverns and arrested over 18,000 people for involvement in unlawful liquor sales, though the Saulsville and Bekkersdal attacks suggest that the flow of illegal weapons and the proliferation of informal bars still pose a grave threat to public safety.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar