A search was underway for the suspects, national police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said in a statement on Saturday.
The victims were 15 women and two men, she said. An eighteenth victim is in a critical condition in hospital.
The shootings took place in the early hours of Saturday in the town of Lusikisiki in Eastern Cape province in southeastern South Africa.
Video released by police showed that the shootings occurred at two houses in the same neighborhood – a collection of rural homesteads on the outskirts of the town.
Twelve women and a man were killed in one house and three women and a man were killed in the other house, police said.
Local media Dispatch Live reported the victims were believed to be relatives and neighbours who had gathered to prepare for a traditional ritual to mark the end of mourning of a mother and daughter murdered a year ago.
Local Ingquza Hil mayor Nonkosi Pepping was quoted saying: “The gunmen came and shot randomly killing everyone. Women and children were also killed in the bloody shooting.
“This has left the community terrified.”
South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates in the world, and mass shootings have become increasingly common in recent years, sometimes targeting people in their homes.
Credit: rfi
