Seventeen people were found dead as a horrible mass shooting took place in a remote South African town with a manhunt underway to find the perpetrators. Two homesteads on the same street in the town of Lusikisiki, in the Eastern Cape, were the targets. The South African Police Service said that 12 women and one man were killed in one location, and three women and one man at a second location and the 18th victim is in critical condition in hospital. The police minister, Senzo Mchunu, is supposed to visit the area where the deadly incident occurred.

Authorities stated that the victims were relatives and neighbors in Nyathi village, Ngobozana in Lusikisiki. According to South African media reports, the victims had gathered at the houses to prepare for a traditional mourning ceremony for a mother and daughter who were murdered a year ago. They were packing goods and presents, including furniture, for the event when the attack occurred on Friday night. "We heard gunshots and doors being kicked," said Nomnikelo Ndlovu, one of the residents who managed to hide during the attack, in an interview with state broadcaster SABC. "We tried to hide and three people were shot. We are still traumatized."

In a statement, the police minister mentioned that a total of 19 people were sleeping in two homes in the same yard at one of the shooting locations. Mchunu added that there were six survivors at that location - four women, a man, and a two-month-old child. A police spokesperson earlier stated that the child was unharmed but was taken to the hospital as a precaution. There were no survivors at the other location. Mchunu also stated that a team of detectives and forensic experts, including crime scene managers from Pretoria, had been deployed to piece all the evidence together in an effort to apprehend the criminals responsible for the attack. Authorities have yet to determine the motive behind the attack or make any arrests.

Xolile Nqatha, the regional cabinet member for community safety, expressed hope for the critically injured man's speedy recovery, stating that "his recovery can help us shed more light" on the shooting. He also suggested that the assailants may have been known to the victims. South Africa has one of the highest murder rates in the world, according to the latest figures from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. In 2022, there were over 27,000 murders, amounting to 45 people per 100,000 out of a population of almost 60 million. By comparison, the US rate is six per 100,000.