Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola confirmed on Friday that 6 228 people were murdered in South Africa in the three-month period between April and June this year, bringing the average murder rate to 68 murders a day.

The numbers, when compared to a similar period last year, show a marginal 3.1% improvement on the 6 424 murders reported between April and June 2022.

According to the statistics, the most common weapon used in the murders, claiming most half of the lives of the reported cases was a gun with 2 756 of the victims shot. A further 862 were stabbed with knives.

The number of women killed between April and June was 895, while 293 children were also murdered during the period

The murder capital of the country remains in eThekwini Metro with Inanda and Umlazi Police stations recording the highest murder cases in the quarter.