Eighteen people are now dead after a mass shooting at a tavern in Extension 3, Wedela, on the West Rand near Carletonville. Gauteng police confirmed on Monday, 28 September 2026, that one of the wounded died in hospital, raising the toll from the 17 people declared dead at the scene on Saturday night.
The attack took place at about 21:30 on Saturday, 26 September 2026. Police said patrons were drinking inside and outside the tavern when eight armed men arrived. The suspects opened fire on people outside, then entered the tavern and continued shooting at patrons inside. Officers said the gunmen were armed with AK-47 rifles and pistols.
Police said the suspects searched some patrons and took cellphones before fleeing in two unidentified vehicles. Two other vehicles were set alight during the incident. Emergency Medical Services declared 17 people dead at the scene. Those 17 were 13 men and four women. Fifteen other people were taken to hospital with gunshot wounds.
On Monday, Gauteng police spokesperson Brigadier Brenda Muridili said one more victim had died in hospital. The investigation now covers 18 counts of murder, 18 counts of attempted murder, two counts of malicious damage to property and armed robbery. No arrests have been made. A manhunt is under way for the eight unidentified armed men.
Only four of the dead have been identified so far: two South African nationals and two Lesotho nationals. Police said all injured people still in hospital have been identified. Five of the wounded were shot in the upper body and remain in a critical condition. The remaining injured patients are in a stable condition. Investigators are still working to identify the other deceased.
Gauteng Provincial Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Tommy Mthombeni has appointed a dedicated multidisciplinary team. The team includes murder and robbery detectives, Crime Intelligence and Crime Scene Investigation members. It is led by a senior brigadier responsible for Crime Investigation Services in the province.
Operation Prosper has been brought into the area. That operation includes the South African National Defence Force and specialised SAPS units, including the Tactical Response Team and Public Order Policing. Police said the operation is being used to intensify work in Wedela and surrounding areas.
The tavern has been reported as Dora’s Tavern on Hector Peterson Street in Extension 3, Wedela. Wedela is in the West Rand District, about 80 kilometres west of Johannesburg, in the Carletonville area.
Police have not publicly confirmed a single settled motive. Robbery is part of the case because cellphones were taken from patrons, and armed robbery has been added to the charge sheet. Deputy Provincial Commissioner Major-General Fred Kekana has said investigators are also looking at a possible link to an earlier shooting at the same tavern about a month before, in which one person was killed and another wounded. He said one of those killed on Saturday was a person police had been seeking in connection with that earlier incident, and that the latest attack may have been retaliation by another group.
Police have also listed illegal-mining gang rivalry in the area as a line of inquiry. Officers have said they have clear images of the eight suspects. President Cyril Ramaphosa said technology had assisted police in obtaining images of the suspects. Major-General Kekana has said some possible names are known to investigators, but identities would be confirmed through the investigation and in court.
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi condemned the attack and called for law-enforcement resources to be used to identify and arrest those responsible. An eyewitness, Lonwabo Benze, told reporters that attackers arrived in a Toyota Quantum, that he heard them speaking in Sotho, and that they said the people they were looking for were not there. Police have not adopted those details as their official account.
Anyone with information that can help identify or locate the suspects is asked to call the Crime Stop line on 08600 10111 or send information anonymously through the MySAPS App.
Man dies after Ford Figo and Audi A4 collide on M7 in Zonkizizwe
One man died and three other people were injured after two light motor vehicles collided on the M7 in Zonkizizwe, Ekurhuleni, in the early hours of Sunday, 27 September 2026.
The collision involved a Ford Figo and an Audi A4. The driver of the Ford Figo, a man believed to be in his 30s, was critically injured. He was declared dead at the scene.
A passenger travelling in the Ford Figo sustained moderate injuries and was taken to hospital. Two men travelling in the Audi A4 sustained minor injuries. Both declined hospitalisation.
The circumstances of the crash have not been established. The South African Police Service is investigating.
Zonkizizwe lies on the southern side of Ekurhuleni, near Katlehong and Palm Ridge. The M7 in that area is a local arterial used by commuter and township traffic. Emergency services covering the stretch include teams based at Zonkizizwe and nearby Palm Ridge.
No names of the occupants have been released. No statement has been issued on the direction of travel, the exact point of impact, weather, road surface conditions, or whether any other vehicles were involved. No arrest has been reported.
The Figo driver’s death brings the confirmed fatality count from the incident to one. The three surviving occupants comprise one person with moderate injuries who was admitted and two people with minor injuries who were not hospitalised.
Police have not classified the matter beyond an investigation into the collision. Until that investigation is completed, the cause remains unknown.
The identities of the deceased and the injured have not been made public. Next-of-kin processes have not been confirmed in any official statement available at the time of writing.
