Three people have been detained by South African police in relation to the horrific murder of eighteen relatives that occurred last week in the isolated Eastern Cape village of Lusikisiki.

Police Minister Senzo Mchunu stated that an extensive manhunt led to the arrests.

During a Sunday mourning service for the victims, Mchunu revealed the arrests and stated that a fourth suspect should be captured shortly.

After shooters broke into two houses and killed three men and fifteen women—many of whom had gunshot wounds to the head—the atrocity stunned the country. Ages of the victims varied from 14 to 64, according Dispatch Live.

Mchunu said that the family was present for a customary ceremony when the attackers opened fire, and that police are still trying to “piece together” the events leading up to the incident.

He stated that the three suspects will be charged in connection with the massacre when they appear in court on Monday.

Stronger police protection has been demanded in South Africa, a nation that already faces one of the highest murder rates in the world, in response to this horrifying tragedy.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime reports that in 2022, over 27,000 murders were reported in the nation; this translates to 45 murders per 100,000 inhabitants, a figure that is much greater than the six murders per 100,000 in the United States.

A renewed need to combat gender-based violence has also resulted from the massacre; South Africa has one of the worst rates of femicide worldwide.

Mmapaseka Letsike, the Deputy Minister in the Presidency, urged traditional leaders, the government, and civil society to “raise the bar” in the battle against gender-based violence while she was at the monument.