The Marikana Massacre, was a mass shooting that occurred when police broke up a gathering by striking Lonmin workers on a 'koppie' (hilltop) near the Nkaneng shack settlement in Marikana on 16 August 2012. 34 miners were killed and 78 miners injured, causing anger and public outcry, fueled by reports that most of the victims were shot from behind and many shot far from police lines. It later emerged that the violence had actually started on 11 August when leaders from the National Union of Mineworkers opened fire on striking NUM members killing two. It is alleged that police did nothing in the aftermath thereby creating a situation in which workers felt that they would have to use other means to protect themselves. Between 12 and 14 August, approximately 8 more people were killed including two policemen and two security guards. It is the country's deadliest incident between police and the civilian population since the Sharpeville Massacre of 1960, and has been referred to as a turning-point in post-1994 South Africa.