South Africa probe 5 deaths in Cape Town

By Hassan Isilow

Police in South Africa said Wednesday they are investigating the death of five people killed by unidentified gunmen in Khayelitsha township near Cape Town.

Spokesman Col. Andre Traut said they were alerted at around 6 a.m. (0400 GMT) of a shooting incident in Ncumu Street, where they found bodies of four males and one female with gunshot wounds.

While the bodies have yet to be identified, the shooting could be linked to another murder hours earlier, according to the police.

‘‘We have reason to believe that the death of the five people can be linked to an incident during the early hours of the morning where another male was shot and killed in the same vicinity,’’ Traut added.

Mass shootings have become more frequent in South Africa, a country with one of the highest murder incidents in the world.