Gunmen kill at least 12 people including three-year-old in hostel in South Africa

South African police have been grappling with violence linked to illegal bars, known as shebeens, in places such as Saulsville, west of Pretoria. Photograph: Bloomberg

Gunmen have stormed into a hostel in South Africa’s capital and killed at least 12 people, including a three-year-old child, and injured more than a dozen others.

Police said they had launched a “manhunt” for three people and were investigating whether the killings were linked to a bar within the hostel that may have been selling alcohol illegally.