Fourteen people have been shot dead at a tavern in Soweto.
Nine others were wounded and three are in a critical condition in hospital following the shooting in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Police have confirmed the incident happened at the Nomzamo Tavern in Orlando, Soweto, around 12.30 am.
Gauteng Police Commissioner Elias Mawela says the patrons were shot by unknown gunmen and that the motive has yet to be established.
The victims were between the ages of 19 and 35 and the survivors are been treated at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital .
Lieutenant General Mawela says it appears to have been a cold blooded attack on innocent tavern-goers.
"My detectives are still hard at work collecting the evidence and interviewing the witnesses, but the primary investigation suggests that the victims were simply enjoying themselves inside the tavern at the time of the shooting," he said.
"Some of them were playing pool when they heard gunshots. They didn't see the shooters come in and then people started dropping dead inside the tavern. Some of the patrons pretended to play dead to avoid being shot," said Mawela.
He said two of the victims succumbed to their injuries outside the tavern while another two victims died in hospital. The other ten tavern-goers died inside the building.
"The manager and owner of the tavern are among the witnesses we will be talking to," said Mawela. "This was a licensed tavern and this tragedy happened during trading hours. Its a massive crime scene and its going to take us a while before we get to the bottom of this shooting."
