South African police probe mining feud, business rivalry after shootings kill 28 | CBC News

'This cannot go on like this,' President Cyril Ramaphosa said of the incidents

South African police on Sunday were hunting the perpetrators of two separate shootings that killed 28 people within hours of each other, highlighting the country's gun violence problem.

Authorities were still working to establish the motives for the shootings near Johannesburg and Cape Town, but initial investigations suggested one could be a turf war between illegal miners and the other a business rivalry.

Violent crime is rife in South Africa, despite efforts to curb one of the world's highest per-capita murder rates.

Ramaphosa said police had images of the suspects in that incident and were working to track them down.

The province's police commissioner, Tommy Mthombeni, told reporters that one line of inquiry was that the shooting was a "turf war in terms of illegal mining."

Soldiers and police pathologists had arrived in the township, where there were two burnt vehicles and the tavern where the shooting took place had a sign saying "No weapons allowed."

At the scene of the shooting in Lwandle on the outskirts of Cape Town, onlookers gathered behind police lines but did not want to speak to journalists, saying they feared for their safety.

Mass shooting at house party in South Africa leaves 11 dead, 3 wounded: police

In that incident, gunmen opened fire in a venue selling grilled meat at around 2:00 a.m. local time on Sunday, killing 10 people and injuring 11.

A police official said, "a business jealousy might have been the issue," as there were reports that people had been buying alcohol in cheaper places and going to the venue to drink.

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