{
  "id": 10860424,
  "title": "SA must never accept mass shootings as part of DNA: ATM",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/30/sa-must-never-accept-mass-shootings-as-part-of-dna-atm",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-09-30T04:44:43.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "SABC News",
    "slug": "sabc-news",
    "url": "https://www.sabcnews.com/sabcnews/sa-must-never-accept-mass-shootings-as-part-of-dna-atm/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The African Transformation Movement (ATM) has strongly condemned mass shootings as being incompatible with South Africa's identity. The party has expressed shock and grief following a series of deadly incidents that claimed the lives of 18 people in Wedela township near Carletonville in the West Rand, and 10 more in Lwandle, Cape Town. ATM's Member of Parliament, Vuyolwethu Zungula, has pointed the finger at illegal mining activities as a possible catalyst for these violent episodes. Zungula lamented, \"What we’re seeing now in the country is a failure of crime intelligence, a failure of the state to protect its citizens. It cannot be accepted that over 160 people have died just this year alone from mass shootings.\" He further stated, \"We have not seen any arrests of the mass shootings that have happened earlier this year, and in the case of Wedela, it is a well-known fact that those mass shootings are spearheaded by illegal miners, who the government knows that there are illegal miners in a particular area, particular community.\"",
  "summary": "Eighteen people were killed in Wedela township near Carletonville, west of Johannesburg.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}