Ten killed and more than ten injured in mass shooting at Saulsville Hostel near Pretoria

06 December 2025 , 10:54

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Ten killed and more than ten injured in mass shooting at Saulsville Hostel near Pretoria

Police have confirmed that 10 people were shot dead at Saulsville Hostel in Atteridgeville, west of Pretoria, while more than 10 others were injured and taken to the hospital.

A mass shooting at a hostel has resulted in 10 people being killed and another 10 rushed to hospital with emergency services at the scene.

Police have confirmed that 10 people were shot dead at Saulsville Hostel in Atteridgeville, west of Pretoria, South Africa, while more than 10 others were injured and taken to the hospital. Gunfire is believed to have broken out around 4am this morning, according to emergency services.

“At least 10 people were killed in Saulsville, Pretoria. More than 10 were injured and have been taken to the hospital. District Commissioner Major Gen. Thine is on the scene,” SAPS national spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said.

Gun crime is a serious issue in South Africa, fueled by illegal firearms, gang activity, and a history of violence, with daily shootings now reaching levels not seen since the 1990s.

This has had a serious impact on communities, leading to calls for stricter controls, yet also increased legal gun ownership due to security concerns, with police struggling to manage lost or stolen weapons.

Last year, 17 people, including 15 women, were killed in two houses near each other in a rural town in South Africa. The shooting occurred on September 28, 2022, in the town of Lusikisiki in Eastern Cape province.

Twelve women and a man were killed in one house, and three women and a man were killed in the other house, police said. Four women, one man, and a two-month-old baby survived. Local media reported that the people were attending a family gathering at the time of the shooting, but the motives for the killing are unknown.

And ten members of the same family, seven of them women, were killed in a mass shooting at a house in South Africa in April 2023. Two unknown gunmen ambushed them while they were at home in the city of Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu-Natal province, police said.

Police spokesperson, Brigadier Jay Naicker, said officers responded after receiving reports of a shooting in the early hours. He said that on arrival, officers found the grisly remains. "When they attended to the scene, they found 10 members of one family were shot and fatally wounded in one of the homes," he explained.

"It is believed that two unknown gunmen entered the home and opened fire on the family members – seven females and three males."

Another mass shooting in the country saw eight people killed at a birthday party in the south coast city of Gqeberha in January 2023. In 2022, 16 died at a bar in the Johannesburg township of Soweto when a group of armed men, some of them wielding rifles, opened fire on customers.

Elizabeth Baker