A 12-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl were also killed in the attack.
“Quite an unfortunate incident. Police were only alerted to this incident at around 6 o’clock,” said Mathe.
Police said the motive was unknown and no arrests had been made. A manhunt is under way for the unidentified suspects.
“We are having a serious challenge when it comes to these illegal and unlicensed liquor premises,” Mathe said, adding that they are where most mass shootings occur.
“Innocent people also get caught up in the crossfire,” she told public broadcaster SABC.
Entrenched crime
South Africa, the continent’s most industrialised nation, is grappling with entrenched crime and corruption driven by organised networks.
Shootings are common and are often fuelled by gang violence and alcohol.
Many people own licensed firearms for personal protection but many more illegal guns are in circulation despite relatively strict gun ownership laws.
About 63 people were killed each day between April and September, according to police data, one of the world’s highest murder rates.
Most deaths stemmed from arguments, with robberies and gang violence also driving the toll, police said last month.
In October, two teenagers were killed and five others wounded in a gang‑related shooting in Johannesburg, the country’s financial capital
In May, gunmen killed eight customers at a tavern in the southeastern city of Durban.
Last year, 18 relatives were shot dead at a rural homestead in the country’s Eastern Cape Province.
– Agence France-Presse
