Pretoria [South Africa], December 7 (ANI): At least 12 people, including a three-year-old boy, were killed when gunmen opened fire inside a bar near Pretoria, South Africa, early Saturday morning, Al Jazeera reported.

A total of 25 people were shot in the attack at Saulsville township, about 18km west of the capital, according to the South African Police Service (SAPS).

Police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe confirmed that 14 wounded victims were rushed to the hospital. Among those killed were three minors -- the three-year-old child, a 12-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl, according to Al Jazeera.

The shooting took place around 4:30 am (02:30 GMT) inside what authorities described as an 'illegal shebeen,' or bar, operating within a hostel. Mathe said three gunmen stormed in and 'indiscriminately fired' at a group of men who were drinking at the time.

Police were notified only after 6 am (04:00 GMT), delaying the initial response. A large-scale manhunt is now underway, although the motive for the attack remains unclear, as per Al Jazeera.

South Africa, the continent's most industrialised nation, continues to battle entrenched crime and corruption driven by organised networks. The country records one of the world's highest murder rates -- an average of 63 killings a day between April and September, according to police data.

'We are having a serious challenge when it comes to these illegal and unlicensed liquor premises,' Mathe said, adding that they are where most mass shootings occur.

'Innocent people also get caught up in the crossfire,' she told public broadcaster SABC.

In October, two teenagers were killed, and five were wounded in a gang-related shooting in Johannesburg, the country's financial capital.

In another incident in May, gunmen killed eight customers at a tavern in the southeastern city of Durban.

Last year, 18 relatives were shot dead at a rural homestead in the country's Eastern Cape province.

Many people in South Africa own licensed firearms for personal protection, but there are many more illegal guns in circulation. (ANI)