Last Updated on September 15, 2019
Local South African newspaper South Coast Herald used photos of a pump-action shotgun and shotgun shells in a piece titled “AK47 rifle recovered ahead of suspected planned killing.”
National File performed a reverse image search on the photos used in the article, and was able to verify that they were not stock images.
The South Coast Herald reported:
A 40-year-old man was arrested and was found in possession of an AK47 rifle with 23 rounds of ammunition.
Captain Petros Mpinge said police officers from Mehlomnyama, Cluster Operational Command Centre and Police Emergency Services, conducted an intelligence driven operation following up on information with regards to a planned killing at Mgolomi on Tuesday night.
On Wednesday, the police officers executed an operation which led them to a homestead at Mgolomi.
The house was searched and a man was found with a bag containing an AK47 assault rifle with 23 rounds of ammunition.
The article also referenced a different situation where a 55-year-old man was found to possess an “unlicensed 303 rifle with live ammunition” and “four hundred and forty-three rounds of live 9mm ammunition and twelve rounds for a bore rifle.”
The weapon described as an “AK47 assault rifle” in the piece is actually a pump-action shotgun with wooden furniture and a folding stock, and bares no resemblance to an assault rifle (at least to anyone with surface-level firearms knowledge).
The “rounds of ammunition” shown in the article are shotgun shells.
South Africa has recently experienced skyrocketing rates of murder, rape, and other violent crime despite having significantly stricter gun laws than most U.S. states.
Recently, attacks against foreign workers have risen drastically, as reported by National File:
Yesterday, a horrific video showing what was allegedly a Nigerian worker burning alive did the rounds on social media. This video is, unfortunately, too disturbing to include here.
TimesLive reports that two South Africans were killed in Coronationville as violence continues to unfold in Johannesburg.
Four South African police officers were arrested last week over the killing of a Nigerian worker, according to Sahara Reporters.
South Africa was also recently in the news after a conservative policy wonk was threatened with legal action for posting an image of the old South African flag.
