Eleven people have been killed and three others wounded in a mass shooting in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province, police said on Wednesday.

According to the South African Police Service (SAPS), armed assailants entered a house in the Ziko area of KwaMakhutha, south of Durban, on Tuesday night and opened fire on a group of 14 people who were having a party inside. The motive for the attack has not yet been established.

Ten people, including a pregnant woman, died at the scene, while four others were taken to hospital, where one later succumbed to gunshot wounds, local media reports.

KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said preliminary investigations indicated that some of the victims had been on the radar of Crime Intelligence in connection with suspected illegal activities. 

Acting National Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Puleng Dimpane has ordered the activation of a 72-hour operation to track down those responsible. No arrests have been announced.

Dimpane said investigators were pursuing a “promising lead” that could help identify and apprehend the suspects. “Police must act decisively, mobilise all available resources and pursue those responsible until they are brought before the courts,” she said.

South Africa has seen a series of violent incidents in recent weeks. Earlier this month, the body of a tenth woman was discovered in Gauteng amid a string of killings in the province. The unidentified victim, believed to be in her 20s, was found wrapped in plastic in a dam in Moroka, Soweto. Police said at the time that they were investigating whether the deaths were linked.

The country continues to record high levels of violent crime despite a recent decline in killings. The latest police figures show that 5,427 murders were recorded nationwide between April and June 2026, down 5.9% from 5,770 during the same period last year. Police also recorded 6,958 attempted murders during the three-month period, an increase of 8.7% year-on-year.