Three people injured during shoot out at popular city hotel

Three people were seriously injured during a shoot out at a hotel in Johannesburg, South Africa on Saturday January 20, 2024.

The shooting incident happened at Tempo Luxury Restaurant , on Saturday morning.

This was after an individual tried to enter the hotel with firearms, leading to an altercation between him and security personnel.

The shooting incident was confirmed by Tempo restaurant management, adding that two staff members and the person who instigated the shooting were injured during the incident.

Preliminary police report revealed the instigator as businessman Sphamandla Mabonga.

Videos shared on social media showed how revelers were dancing before gunshots rocked the air, as panicking revelers scampered for safety as others tried hiding under tables.

The restaurant management has however released a statement, apologizing over the unfortunate incident.

“It is important for us to provide an accurate account of the situation and reassure our cherished patrons and dedicated staff,” it said.

“During the incident, an individual attempted to enter our establishment with firearms. Our steadfast security team, enforcing our strict policy against firearms entering the premises, denied the individual entry, leading to a verbal dispute.

“Regrettably the incident escalated and resulted in the wounding of two of our staff members as well as the said individual. The incident unfolded outside the premises, and none of our patrons inside the establishment were harmed,” it said.

At the same time, Tempo specifically apologized to the victims of the shout out, and promised to support them during their recovery.

Meanwhile, Gauteng’s police commissioner Elias Mawela emphasized the need to recover illegal firearms from the streets to avoid similar incidents in future.

“Our detectives are hard at work so that we can trace those that are responsible for that heinous crime,” Mawela said.

“Our approach as the police is to remove the tools of trade used by the criminals to commit these robberies and one of those is to remove firearms,” he added.

Mawela also disclosed that police were investigating the shooting incident that led to three people sustaining injuries at Tempo Luxury Restaurant.