Pretoria – A gun recovered from an arrested suspect has been linked through ballistics to the Saulsville tavern mass shooting in Atteridgeville.
Earlier this month, on 6 December 2025, three gunmen stormed an illegal tavern inside a hostel and opened fire, killing 12 people, including three children.
Thirteen others were injured and taken to Kalafong Hospital.
The suspect, who was one of the three persons of interest police were seeking regarding the mass murders, was arrested last week in Polokwane, Limpopo.
The suspect can not yet be named pending an identity parade.
Spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe on Tuesday, 30 December 2025, said that during the suspect’s arrest, police seized a firearm and several rounds of ammunition found in his possession.
“Following ballistics testing, police can now confirm that the firearm seized by police during the arrest of this suspect has been positively linked to the crime scene in Atteridgeville,” revealed Brigadier Mathe.
This suspect is due to appear this morning in Polokwane on a charge of unlawful possession of a firearm.
Tomorrow, Wednesday, 31 December 2025, the same suspect will appear again before the Atteridgeville Magistrate’s Court, in Pretoria, on 12 counts of murder and 13 counts of attempted murder.
SA Police Service National Commissioner General Fannie Masemola has applauded the multidisciplinary team investigating the Atteridgeville mass shooting for “registering another breakthrough”.
