An attorney representing a group of men who were erroneously dragged into last Saturday’s Dullstroom fight drama says her clients are innocent and were mistaken for another group involved in earlier altercations at two local bars before being confronted at a filling station.

The Middelburg Observer has reported extensively on the night’s chaos, which began at a newly opened restaurant before spilling over to another Dullstroom bar.

The events unfolded as follows:

A bachelor’s party and another group celebrating two birthdays clashed at the newly opened restaurant in Dullstroom.

Members of the bachelor’s party had sex toys and a blow-up doll with them and allegedly became unruly. Dullstroom locals later chased the group from the restaurant.

The birthday group, who had also clashed with the bachelor’s party at the restaurant, paid their bill and moved on to another local bar and restaurant in an effort to avoid further confrontation.

However, both groups later ended up at the same venue, where another altercation broke out after a member of the bachelor’s party slapped a patron from the other group in the face with a dildo.

The fight spilled into the street, where the suspect allegedly drew a firearm and fired at least four shots.

Two men from the opposing group were wounded. One sustained a gunshot wound to the stomach, while the other was wounded in the lower back.

The shooter and his associates then fled the scene, with members of the opposing group pursuing them in an attempt to stop the suspect and have police deal with him.

Meanwhile, a third and unrelated bachelor party was later confronted at a filling station. Members of the pursuing group mistakenly believed they were the men involved in the shooting.

According to the attorney representing this group, her clients were pushed and shoved and accused of carrying firearms, which she says was untrue.

Police arrived on the scene and the groups eventually dispersed.

The suspected shooter was later traced to a guest farm, where he was arrested without incident on Sunday morning.

He was subsequently released after the victims, who had been rushed to Life Midmed Hospital for treatment, failed to formally report the shooting.

The victims have since indicated that they will report the matter to police accompanied by their own legal representatives.

Mpumalanga SAPS confirmed that the suspect had been released. His firearm was confiscated and sent for ballistic testing.

The incident has also had a wider impact on the town’s hospitality sector, with several Dullstroom venues reportedly considering banning bachelor parties. Some establishments have already implemented such measures.

According to the attorney, there were three separate groups of men in Dullstroom celebrating bachelor parties over the weekend.

She said her clients’ group had no association with the other two groups and did not know any of their members.

She further stated that the confrontation at the petrol station occurred after another group — believed to be linked to the victims — approached her clients and accused them of having a firearm.

According to her, the group clearly mistook her clients for the group allegedly associated with the shooter and initiated the confrontation.

She added that no firearms were present during the altercation, which she said could be confirmed by eyewitnesses, including members of the SAPS who intervened to de-escalate the situation.