Three children and a 19-year-old were murdered by gunmen who burst into a wendy house in Cape Town late on Tuesday.
Police said three suspects were arrested within hours of the shooting in Elsies River, which occurred at 11pm.
A sister and brother, aged 10 and 12, were among the dead. Another 12-year-old was killed, and the children's mothers — aged 33 and 30, according to police — sustained serious gunshot wounds and were taken to hospital.
Provincial community safety minister Albert Fritz alleged that the 19-year-old who died was affiliated to a gang.
Fritz said the wounded women went to an adjoining block of flats, where they were cared for until being taken to hospital by an ambulance.
"I would like to extend my deepest condolences to the family of the deceased," he said.
Police spokesperson Brig Novela Potelwa said anti-gang unit members, crime intelligence officers and Elsies River police worked throughout the night to hunt down the suspects.
"They descended on specific places in search of the suspects. Early this morning they arrested a 30-year-old suspect in the area," she said on Wednesday.
"A few hours later another suspect, aged 36, was apprehended.
The third suspect is a 27-year-old man.
They are expected in court soon, as soon as they are charged.
"The investigation is looking into all avenues including the possibility that the incident is gang related."
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