Two young children were among the deceased in a horrendous murder in Blyvooruitzicht, Gauteng, on Sunday.

As far as can be determined, a family living in the old time office at Blyvoor were asleep when someone knocked on their door at approximately 23:00.

When the father of the household, Salton Zweletini (40), answered the door from the inside, the suspects started shooting at him through the door.

The five male attackers then opened the door and stormed in. They shot eight-year-old Katleho Mfiqane; her brother, Moganja (10); and their mother Poncho Mfiqane (23), with AK47s and 9mm handguns.

All died at the scene.

The family members are all Lesotho nationals, and, as far as can be determined, the two children attended school in Wedela.

Residents of Blyvooruitzicht have complained for months about the increasing violent crime rate in the town, which started to escalate rapidly last year.

According to a United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund report released in November 2022, at least three children are murdered, another three survive attempted murder and 21 suffer grievous bodily harm in South Africa every day.