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Eight people dead as gunmen open fire at birthday party in South Africa

LUVUYO MEHLWANA/AFP/Getty Images

(CNN) — Eight people were killed and three wounded after two gunmen entered a home and opened fire on a group of people celebrating a birthday at a home in South Africa on Sunday evening, according to the South African police service (SAPS).

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The shooting happened in the southern port city of Gqeberha, formerly Port Elizabeth, and an investigation has been launched and a police manhunt is currently underway for the two unknown attackers, police spokesperson Colonel Priscilla Naidu told CNN.

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The homeowner is among the deceased, according to a statement by the SAPS.

Among those killed were three women and four men, the police service also said, adding that no arrests have been made.

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Police said the Minister of Police, General Bheki Cele, and the National Commissioner of the SAPS, General Fannie Masemola, will lead a delegation of various experts within the organization to the scene on Monday.

South Africa has grappled with a surge in gun crimes with separate mass shootings witnessed last year.

Last July, at least 15 people were killed when a group of armed men open fire at a bar in Soweto. Hours earlier, four others were killed in a separate shooting in a bar in Pietermaritzburg.

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The shootings followed the deaths of 22 young people who had died in unexplained circumstances at a tavern in East London, in the country’s Eastern Cape province.

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