Gunmen, on Saturday, attacked two homesteads in a village outside Lusikisiki, in Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, and killed at least 17 people from a single family in their sleep.

The victims were gathered for a traditional ceremony when they were attacked, the New York Times quoted the police to have confirmed to journalists. 

Police spokesperson, Athlenda Mathe, told a local media that 13 people were killed in one homestead, twelve of whom were women, adding that six other victims survived, one of whom was a two-month-old baby, while one victim is in critical condition at a local medical facility.

Ms Mathe stated that the attack of the second homestead witnessed the killing of all four people inside a single house.

A manhunt of the assailants have been launched while the police officers cordoned off the roads at the scene. The officers are joined with forensics teams at both homesteads, while community members are gathered on the other side under the rain.

Spokesperson for the local municipality, Lwando Nonkonyana, said the mass shooting was “a shock to the area,” adding that, “This is the first time we’ve witnessed something like this.”

Meanwhile, officers have lamented the high rate of illegal firearms possession and high rates of gun violence in the region, with the police minister, Senzo Mchunu, in a press briefing on Saturday saying, “It’s an intolerably huge number of people.”

Mr Mchunu disclosed that in the past four months, over 430 illegal firearms were confiscated, mostly in the Eastern Cape, adding that officers were treating the mass killing as a priority.

The sad incident comes almost two years after gunmen in January 2023, attacked and killed eight people at a birthday party in Gqeberha, in Eastern Cape Province. 

Gunmen in April 2023 also killed 10 people at a homestead outside the city of Pietermaritzburg, while at least 19 people were shot and killed in multiple taverns, including in Johannesburg’s Soweto township, in July 2022.