Criminal Network Rivalries Linked to South Africa’s Mass Shootings

South Africa has recorded 41 mass shootings since the start of 2026, resulting in almost 200 deaths, according to data from the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC).

The organisation attributes the violence to organised crime, gang activity and disputes over control of criminal networks and illicit markets. GI-TOC defines a mass shooting as an incident in which at least three people are killed.

Deadly shootings across major cities

Shootings in Johannesburg and Cape Town last weekend left 27 people dead over two days. Several days earlier, gunmen stormed a house south of Durban, killing 12 people, including a pregnant woman.

The available information does not identify the gunmen or the criminal networks involved in the incidents.

GI-TOC linked much of the wider violence to competition among criminal networks and individuals seeking control of illicit markets. Its assessment places the shootings within broader struggles over criminal activity rather than treating the incidents as isolated events.

Homicides show a different trend

The rise in mass shootings has occurred alongside a reported decline in overall homicides. The latest quarterly figures from South African police showed that homicides fell by almost 6 percent between April and June.

The contrasting figures indicate that a reduction in overall homicides has not eliminated the occurrence of concentrated, deadly attacks. The GI-TOC data covers mass shootings recorded since the beginning of the year, while the police figures refer to the April-to-June quarter.

No location-by-location breakdown of the 41 shootings, or details of arrests and investigations, were provided in the available information.