South African police hunt gunmen after two shootings kill 27 near Johannesburg and Cape Town
Police in South Africa are hunting those behind two separate shootings that killed at least 27 people within hours near Johannesburg and Cape Town, with motives still unclear.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
South African police have launched manhunts after two separate mass shootings killed at least 27 people. The attacks happened within hours of each other near Johannesburg and Cape Town, and officers are still hunting the perpetrators. The motives are not yet clear.
The shootings have renewed attention on violent crime in South Africa. Gang violence and organised crime remain rife, despite government efforts to curb one of the highest per capita murder rates in the world.
Key facts
- At least 27 people were shot dead in the two attacks.
- The shootings took place near Johannesburg and Cape Town.
- The attacks happened within hours of each other.
- Police are hunting those responsible.
- The motives are still unclear.
- Gang violence and organised crime remain major problems in South Africa.
On screen
Stills are sampled automatically at 60-second intervals. Where shown, the still is the nearest available frame from the relevant broadcast segment and is included to show what was on screen during that part of the broadcast. A still may not correspond to the exact second of a quoted phrase.
Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | BBC News | BBC One |
|---|---|---|
| South African police launched manhunts after at least 27 people were killed in two separate mass shootings. | ||
| Gang violence and organised crime remain rife in South Africa, which has one of the highest per capita murder rates in the world, despite government efforts to curb it. | · | |
| The motives for the shootings were not yet clear. | · |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
BBC NEWS gave the South Africa story only a brief headline mention in a rolling bulletin, then moved to a major incident in Gloucestershire, Bangkok flooding and the Pope's visit to France. It carried no location, motive or background detail, so its coverage was far thinner than the regional channel's summary.
- “South African police launch manhunts after at least 27 people are shot dead in two separate mass shootings.”
BBC ONE West carried a compact but substantive summary of the South Africa attacks, naming Johannesburg and Cape Town, saying the shootings happened within hours and noting that motives were unclear. It placed the attacks in the context of gang violence, organised crime and South Africa's high murder rate.
- “South African police are hunting the perpetrators of two separate shootings that killed 27 people within hours of each other.”
- “The shootings happened near Johannesburg and Cape Town and the motives are yet unclear but gang violence and organised crime remain rife in South Africa despite government efforts to curb one of the highest per capita murder rates in the world.”
Who was on air
People and organisations each channel put on air while covering this story. Channels' own presenters and reporters are not listed. Names as transcribed, and the list can miss people.
- 10:20 BST
Heidi Jokas, news anchor with the SABC, the South African Broadcasting Corporation
“So what we understand at this stage is 27 people have been gunned down in two separate”
BBC News · Sun 27 Sept
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.