The provincial government in Gauteng says 11 people were injured in a mass shooting incident in Johannesburg, just hours after the Poppy's Restaurant shooting in Mellville left two people dead and six others injured. Two of them were left in a critical condition,
Gauteng's acting premier, Panyaza Lesufi, says that at about 3am, gunshots were fired at Mary Fitzgerald Square; eleven people were wounded and rushed to hospital.
According to paramedics, four men were seriously injured.
Lesufi condemned both incidents, saying the province was saddened by these barbaric acts on New Year's Day.
He said preliminary investigations into the Mary Fitzgerald Square incident revealed that the shooter fired several shots from the upper level of the M2 (south bound) double-decker bridge and targeted the VIP area.
In the Poppy's Restaurant shooting in Mellville, just hours earlier, a BMW SUV approached from 7th Avenue and suddenly, multiple shots were fired from the vehicle at patrons who were sitting outside the restaurant.
Brigadier Mathapelo Peters says eight people were shot, two of whom were declared dead on the scene.
Peters said the deceased were two women between the ages of 30 and 40.
No arrests have been made but an intensive police investigation is underway.
