Pregnant Woman Survives Pretoria Hostel Mass Shooting By Hiding Under Bed: “I Counted 24 Gunshots”

A pregnant woman has shared how she narrowly escaped death by hiding under a bed during a mass shooting that left 12 people dead at a Pretoria hostel in the early hours of Sunday.

The attack unfolded inside a shebeen operating in the Saulsville hostel, claiming the lives of three children aged three, 12 and 16. Thirteen others were injured in what residents say is the latest tragedy in an area long plagued by violent crime.

The survivor, who asked not to be named for safety reasons, said she had accompanied her older sister to buy alcohol when the gunmen stormed another room in the shebeen.

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She heard shouting — and then gunfire. “Children in the room started crying, and I [grabbed] one and we hid under the bed. I didn’t know where my sister was hiding, but she later told me that she ran off.

“The people went inside the rooms shooting children, and they shot the mother of the children, who was on top of the bed,” she said.

“I was scared even though we are … used to hearing gunshots at the hostel. I didn’t realise how bad it was until I came out. I am traumatised after seeing children lying on the floor. They killed a lot of people.”

Pretoria Hostel Residents Speak of Fear After Deadly Mass Shooting

When she emerged from her hiding place, bodies lay strewn across the floor. She said she began living at the hostel this year and had witnessed frequent shootings since she first started visiting in 2019. “We are used to it, this is how we live,” she said. The youngest victim, a three-year-old, is believed to be the child of the shebeen owner.

Police spokesperson Brig Athlenda Mathe confirmed the shooting occurred at around 4am. Ten people died at the scene, while two more passed away in hospital. Thirteen others are still receiving medical treatment.

A graphic video circulated by a neighbourhood group shows victims lying in pools of blood as forensic teams examined the scene. Terrified residents said they were afraid to speak publicly. “You speak out, you don’t live to see the next day,” one resident said.

Another woman, visibly shaken, said her partner was among those killed. He had told her he would be stopping at the shebeen before his death. “I was woken up at about 4.25am and told that he had been shot. When I went there, I found his body in the corner, his blood still flowing,” she said.

Witnesses Describe 24 Gunshots as Attackers ‘Shot Everyone’

A 59-year-old woman who rushed to the scene after being alerted by family members said her nephew and other relatives were among the dead. “I am in pain; I don’t know what is happening. I am still waiting to hear what is happening to my family’s children,” she said.

Another neighbour recalled hearing the attack begin shortly after 4.20am. “There was a gun [shot] and then, seconds [later], the gun went off again. I counted 24 gunshots. I could hear the difference when it was going through someone and in the air — that’s when I realised that these people are not killing one person,” the neighbour said.

Residents rushed to the shebeen after hearing a woman screaming. “We are scared as a community, and we don’t know where these people are coming from. They just came in and shot; they didn’t say who they were looking for,” another resident said.

With ambulances delayed, victims were taken to hospital in a minibus taxi that had to make two trips.

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