Gunmen opened fire on birthday party guests, killing eight and wounding three. The celebrant was among the deceased.

The shooting happened in the southern port city of Gqeberha in South Africa.

According to local police, it was a deliberate attack in which gunmen opened fire and “randomly shot at guests.” 

Three wounded were left in critical condition.

“The owner of the house was celebrating his birthday when two unknown gunmen entered the yard” on Sunday evening “and started shooting at the guests,” police said in a statement.

According to the police, the attackers’ motive has not been determined, but an investigation has been launched into the incident. Police are also on a manhunt for the assailants.

“It is a blatant disregard for human life,” the provincial police chief for the Eastern Cape province, Nomthetheleli Mene, said while describing the incident.

In recent years, such attacks have been frequent, often fueled by gang violence and alcohol, placing South Africa as one of the countries with the highest murder rates in the world.

One such tragic event occurred last July when two bar shootings on the same night in a township close to Johannesburg and another in eastern South Africa left 19 people dead.