COMMENT: South Africa is facing a deeply worrying pattern of mass shootings in 2026. We have seen deadly attacks in Gauteng, the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape and North West. These are not isolated incidents anymore. Again and again, people are being gunned down in taverns, homes, informal settlements and residential areas. Earlier this year, there were deadly shootings in areas including Philippi East, Delft, Wesbank, Gugulethu, Kayamandi, Nyanga and Langa in the Western Cape. There were also multiple high-casualty shootings in Kanana in North West and Kwadwesi in Gqeberha. Some of these attacks have been linked or investigated in the context of gang violence, extortion and organised crime, but the motive is not yet established in every case. One of the most shocking attacks was the shooting at Jumpers/Cleveland in Johannesburg in June. At least 12 people were killed and many others wounded after gunmen opened fire in the community. The area has been associated with illegal mining, and investigators have looked at possible links to organised criminal activity and illegal-mining networks. Then, on 22 September, another devastating attack took place in KwaMakhutha, south of Durban, where 10 or 11 people were killed. This was followed within days by two horrific mass shootings in Gauteng and the Western Cape. In Wedela, near Carletonville overnight, 17 people were killed and 15 injured when gunmen opened fire at Dora’s Tavern. A major police manhunt is under way for the suspects. Then came the shooting in Lwandle in Cape Town, where 10 people were killed and 11 injured. That means 27 people were killed and 26 injured in just these two separate attacks. The scale of this violence is extremely concerning. We cannot normalise the killing of innocent people in communities across South Africa. Every shooting leaves families devastated and communities traumatised. There are different factors behind these attacks. In some cases, police are investigating gang violence, extortion and organised crime. In other cases, illegal mining and criminal syndicates are part of the investigation. The common thread is the availability of illegal firearms and the ability of heavily armed criminals to operate in communities. Authorities need to go after the people supplying the guns, the criminal networks behind these attacks and those financing organised crime. We also need effective investigations, arrests and successful prosecutions. The latest shootings should be a wake-up call. Mass shootings cannot become the new normal in South Africa. We need decisive action against organised crime, illegal firearms, gangs, extortion and the criminal syndicates driving the violence.