A mass shooting tore through an unlicensed bar in South Africa over the weekend … leaving 12 people dead, including three young children, as police search for multiple gunmen who opened fire without warning.

The attack went down early Saturday inside a bar operating out of a hostel west of Pretoria. Cops say 10 victims died on scene, and two more passed away at the hospital.

Among the dead … a 3-year-old boy, a 12-year-old boy, and a 16-year-old girl … all caught in a hail of bullets during what should’ve been an ordinary night for locals. Another 13 people were rushed to the hospital with gunshot wounds. Authorities haven’t released their ages or conditions.

Police say they’re looking for three male suspects believed to have stormed into the bar before unloading gunfire at random. “We are told that at least three unknown gunmen entered this hostel where a group of people were drinking and they started randomly shooting,” a police spokesperson told national broadcaster SABC.