Cape Town, Oct 19 (IANS) Five people were killed and two children were injured in yet another mass shooting in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa, local police said Saturday.

According to a statement issued by the Eastern Cape provincial police, the killings occurred at around 8:30 p.m. (1830 GMT) on Friday in Bityi at the Ncenjana Location, Mthentu Administrative area outside Mthatha. The victims were all members of the same family.

This came just more than a week after six people were shot dead in Qumbu, and less than a month after 18 people were brutally gunned down in Lusikisiki, both in the same province.

In the statement, provincial police spokesperson Siphokazi Mawisa said information on hand indicates that the family was asleep in two different houses in a yard. The parents were sleeping in a rondavel when two unknown males entered and fatally shot them.

The two men then flounced out of the rondavel and started firing shots to the people who were sleeping in another house, and fatally shot three and left two injured. The two children who survived the attack managed to run away and informed the neighbors, who then alerted the police.

"Two males and three females died while the two injured children were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment," said Mawisa, Xinhua news agency reported.

Eastern Cape Provincial Commissioner Nomthetheleli Mene denounced "such vicious acts" in the statement and has mobilized "all available resources" to find the perpetrators.

"I have instructed a team of seasoned detectives to hit the ground running and to work tirelessly until the culprits responsible for this senseless killing are brought to justice," Mene said.

"Police are investigating five counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder. The South African Police Service is calling upon those who may have leads to come forward and assist the police in apprehending those behind the murders," added the statement.

--IANS

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