SAPS forensic teams examine a crime scene at Saulsville Hostel on December 06, 2025 in Atteridgeville, South Africa. It is reported that at least 11 have been people killed and more than 10 people have been injured and taken to hospital. This is a developing story. (Photo: Gallo Images /Frennie Shivambu) 
The Saulsville hostel mass shooting, which claimed the lives of 12 people and injured 13 on 6 December 2025, is connected to a complicated web of murders and attempted murders in Atteridgeville, a township located in the west of Pretoria.
Speaking to the media outside of the Atteridgeville Magistrate’s Court, Gauteng Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Tommy Mthombeni confirmed this, adding that the shooting was linked to rivalries between splinter groups of an extortion gang that fractured in 2023.
Mthombeni said that before the mass shooting, there were two other murder and attempted murder incidents on 3 December, with one victim dying on 5 December.
/file/attachments/orphans/ED_549357_438796.jpg "Lieutenant-General Tommy Mthombeni, Gauteng’s Police Commissioner. (Photo: Lubabalo Lesolle / Gallo Images)")
“It's a complex issue, as I have indicated. In 2023, there was one leader who was the main leader of this group. When he was shot and killed, a splinter group was formed. On the third, one of the leaders of this splinter group was shot,” Mthombeni said.
He said that the mass shooting on 6 December occurred when members of this group were reportedly looking for another individual, but discovered a friend had been killed, leading to the shooting.
Read more: Death toll in Saulsville mass shooting rises to 12
Twelve counts of murder, 13 of attempted murder
At 4am on the morning of the mass shooting, three gunmen charged into a tavern inside a hostel in Atteridgeville, one of Pretoria’s townships, and indiscriminately opened fire.
Among the 12 people who were gunned down, the youngest victim was a three-year-old, the child of the illegal shebeen’s owner. Two other minors, aged 12 and 16, were among those gunned down. While 10 people died at the scene, the remaining two victims succumbed to their injuries in the hospital.
Suspect appears in court
Lieutenant-General Mthombeni revealed the link to gang rivalries outside the Attridgeville Magistrate’s Court, where one of the suspects in the mass shooting appeared for the first time on Wednesday.
This was after a joint operation between South African Police Service (SAPS) officers in Gauteng and Limpopo, which traced the suspected gunman to Polokwane, resulting in his arrest on 21 December.
/file/attachments/orphans/1000187384_185385.jpg "One of the Atteridgeville mass shooting suspects has appeared in court after ballistics linked him to the shooting. (Photo: SAPS)")
The media and public were not permitted to be in the courtroom when the suspect appeared. This is because the alleged gunman cannot be identified at this stage as a result of not having been taken through an identification parade.
During the joint operation, the alleged mass shooter was found in possession of a firearm and several rounds of ammunition, which were seized by the police.
/file/attachments/orphans/1000187381_503874.jpg "The firearm seized by the police during the arrest of the suspect has been positively linked to the crime scene in Atteridgeville. (Photo: SAPS)")
“Following ballistics testing, police can now confirm that the firearm they seized during the arrest of this suspect has been positively linked to the crime scene in Atteridgeville,” said SAPS national spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe.
Lieutenant-General Mthombeni said that in addition to ballistics testing, the suspect provided the police with a confession that linked him to the mass shooting.
This suspect appeared before a court in Polokwane on a charge of unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition on Tuesday, 30 December, before his appearance in the Atteridgeville Magistrate’s Court on 12 counts of murder and 13 counts of attempted murder.
The case has been postponed to 23 February 2026, with the possibility of combining it with other related cases.
A manhunt is underway for the two other suspects linked to the case.
Before the magistrate cleared the gallery, community members filled the courtroom anxiously awaiting the suspect’s first appearance.
The room was filled with hushed murmurs, with many community members whispering their frustrations about violence in the area.
“We need to see justice work today, we are tired of these people doing as they please,” a community member said. DM