{"id":309,"date":"2025-12-24T17:29:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-24T17:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/1newsnetwork.com\/?p=309"},"modified":"2026-02-02T13:10:02","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T13:10:02","slug":"police-arrest-11-following-bekkersdal-horror-killings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/24\/police-arrest-11-following-bekkersdal-horror-killings\/","title":{"rendered":"Police arrest 11 following Bekkersdal horror killings"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt\"><p class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt__excerpt\">Motive remains unclear, although those held by police are linked to illegal mining activities <\/p><\/div>\n\n\n<p>By Gizem Nisa Demir (Anadulo Agency) and ONN correspondent<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Eleven people have been arrested in connection with this week&#8217;s fatal shooting in Bekkersdal which saw ten killed and ten others injured.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to reports, unknown assailants opened fire randomly inside the Kwanoxolo Tavern and continued the shooting spree into the surrounding streets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While the motive for the shooting remains unknown, Gauteng police confirmed that the latest arrests took place at a residence believed to be harbouring illegal miners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Acting Provincial Police Commissioner Fred Kekana provided an update at the Westonaria Police Station earlier on Wednesday, noting that the operation yielded significant evidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>He says the suspects were found with multiple firearms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nine of those arrested are Lesotho nationals, one is from Mozambique and 11th is a South African citizen who is alleged to have harboured those arrested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There have been a spate of mass shootings in South Africa over the past few months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the most recent of attacks, twelve people, including a a three-year-old, were killed on December 6, following an attack on a hostel in Saulsville township, west of Pretoria. Fourteen others were wounded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><em>Motive remains unclear, although those held by police are linked to illegal mining activities<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":310,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-309","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-south-africa"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Police arrest 11 following Bekkersdal horror killings - Awaken | Mobilise | Unite<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/24\/police-arrest-11-following-bekkersdal-horror-killings\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Police arrest 11 following Bekkersdal horror killings - Awaken | Mobilise | Unite\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Motive remains unclear, although those held by police are linked to illegal mining activities\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/24\/police-arrest-11-following-bekkersdal-horror-killings\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Awaken | Mobilise | Unite\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/1nationmediaFB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-12-24T17:29:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-02T13:10:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/saps-in-mud-killing-case.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1470\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"ONM reporter\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@1nationmediax\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@1nationmediax\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"ONM reporter\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1nationmedia.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/24\\\/police-arrest-11-following-bekkersdal-horror-killings\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1nationmedia.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/24\\\/police-arrest-11-following-bekkersdal-horror-killings\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"ONM reporter\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1nationmedia.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/40bb4e0dafec5c27537d028e18650a5b\"},\"headline\":\"Police arrest 11 following Bekkersdal horror killings\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-24T17:29:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-02T13:10:02+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1nationmedia.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/24\\\/police-arrest-11-following-bekkersdal-horror-killings\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":192,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1nationmedia.com\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1nationmedia.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/24\\\/police-arrest-11-following-bekkersdal-horror-killings\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1nationmedia.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/saps-in-mud-killing-case.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"South Africa\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/1nationmedia.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/24\\\/police-arrest-11-following-bekkersdal-horror-killings\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1nationmedia.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/24\\\/police-arrest-11-following-bekkersdal-horror-killings\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1nationmedia.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/24\\\/police-arrest-11-following-bekkersdal-horror-killings\\\/\",\"name\":\"Police arrest 11 following Bekkersdal horror killings - Awaken | Mobilise | Unite\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1nationmedia.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1nationmedia.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/24\\\/police-arrest-11-following-bekkersdal-horror-killings\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1nationmedia.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/24\\\/police-arrest-11-following-bekkersdal-horror-killings\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1nationmedia.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/saps-in-mud-killing-case.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-24T17:29:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-02T13:10:02+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1nationmedia.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/24\\\/police-arrest-11-following-bekkersdal-horror-killings\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/1nationmedia.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/24\\\/police-arrest-11-following-bekkersdal-horror-killings\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1nationmedia.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/24\\\/police-arrest-11-following-bekkersdal-horror-killings\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1nationmedia.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/saps-in-mud-killing-case.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1nationmedia.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/saps-in-mud-killing-case.jpg\",\"width\":1470,\"height\":900},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1nationmedia.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/24\\\/police-arrest-11-following-bekkersdal-horror-killings\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1nationmedia.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Police arrest 11 following Bekkersdal horror killings\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1nationmedia.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1nationmedia.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Awaken | Mobilise | Unite\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1nationmedia.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1nationmedia.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1nationmedia.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Awaken | Mobilise | Unite\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1nationmedia.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1nationmedia.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1nationmedia.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/Logo-Variant-15-scaled.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1nationmedia.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/Logo-Variant-15-scaled.png\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1412,\"caption\":\"Awaken | Mobilise | Unite\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1nationmedia.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/1nationmediaFB\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/1nationmediax\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/1nationmediainsta\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tiktok.com\\\/@1.nation.media\",\"https:\\\/\\\/youtube.com\\\/@1nationmediatv\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1nationmedia.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/40bb4e0dafec5c27537d028e18650a5b\",\"name\":\"ONM reporter\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/edb0b2e8ab40df287db4542c0c50a28b4a3d2702fb3d5dbea5b70e23216e4970?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/edb0b2e8ab40df287db4542c0c50a28b4a3d2702fb3d5dbea5b70e23216e4970?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/edb0b2e8ab40df287db4542c0c50a28b4a3d2702fb3d5dbea5b70e23216e4970?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"ONM reporter\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1nationmedia.com\\\/index.php\\\/author\\\/abdullah\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Police arrest 11 following Bekkersdal horror killings - Awaken | Mobilise | Unite","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/24\/police-arrest-11-following-bekkersdal-horror-killings\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Police arrest 11 following Bekkersdal horror killings - Awaken | Mobilise | Unite","og_description":"Motive remains unclear, although those held by police are linked to illegal mining activities","og_url":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/24\/police-arrest-11-following-bekkersdal-horror-killings\/","og_site_name":"Awaken | Mobilise | Unite","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/1nationmediaFB","article_published_time":"2025-12-24T17:29:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-02-02T13:10:02+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1470,"height":900,"url":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/saps-in-mud-killing-case.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"ONM reporter","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@1nationmediax","twitter_site":"@1nationmediax","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"ONM reporter","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/24\/police-arrest-11-following-bekkersdal-horror-killings\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/24\/police-arrest-11-following-bekkersdal-horror-killings\/"},"author":{"name":"ONM reporter","@id":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/#\/schema\/person\/40bb4e0dafec5c27537d028e18650a5b"},"headline":"Police arrest 11 following Bekkersdal horror killings","datePublished":"2025-12-24T17:29:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-02T13:10:02+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/24\/police-arrest-11-following-bekkersdal-horror-killings\/"},"wordCount":192,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/24\/police-arrest-11-following-bekkersdal-horror-killings\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/saps-in-mud-killing-case.jpg","articleSection":["South Africa"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/24\/police-arrest-11-following-bekkersdal-horror-killings\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/24\/police-arrest-11-following-bekkersdal-horror-killings\/","url":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/24\/police-arrest-11-following-bekkersdal-horror-killings\/","name":"Police arrest 11 following Bekkersdal horror killings - Awaken | Mobilise | Unite","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/24\/police-arrest-11-following-bekkersdal-horror-killings\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/24\/police-arrest-11-following-bekkersdal-horror-killings\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/saps-in-mud-killing-case.jpg","datePublished":"2025-12-24T17:29:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-02T13:10:02+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/24\/police-arrest-11-following-bekkersdal-horror-killings\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/24\/police-arrest-11-following-bekkersdal-horror-killings\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/24\/police-arrest-11-following-bekkersdal-horror-killings\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/saps-in-mud-killing-case.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/saps-in-mud-killing-case.jpg","width":1470,"height":900},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/24\/police-arrest-11-following-bekkersdal-horror-killings\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Police arrest 11 following Bekkersdal horror killings"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/","name":"Awaken | Mobilise | Unite","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/#organization","name":"Awaken | Mobilise | Unite","url":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Logo-Variant-15-scaled.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Logo-Variant-15-scaled.png","width":2560,"height":1412,"caption":"Awaken | Mobilise | Unite"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/1nationmediaFB","https:\/\/x.com\/1nationmediax","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/1nationmediainsta","https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@1.nation.media","https:\/\/youtube.com\/@1nationmediatv"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/#\/schema\/person\/40bb4e0dafec5c27537d028e18650a5b","name":"ONM reporter","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/edb0b2e8ab40df287db4542c0c50a28b4a3d2702fb3d5dbea5b70e23216e4970?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/edb0b2e8ab40df287db4542c0c50a28b4a3d2702fb3d5dbea5b70e23216e4970?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/edb0b2e8ab40df287db4542c0c50a28b4a3d2702fb3d5dbea5b70e23216e4970?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"ONM reporter"},"url":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/author\/abdullah\/"}]}},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=309"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":311,"href":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309\/revisions\/311"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/310"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=309"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=309"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=309"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}