Behki Cele described the incident in the early hours of Sunday (July 10) morning as "such a brutality".
He said the high number of rounds forensics teams found at the scene meant the killers would have had to reload in the middle of the slaughter.
“There were about 130 empty cartridges of AK-47. Which means those people that were there really meant business of killing.”
Nine people were also wounded in the attack in the Johannesburg township's Orlando East neighborhood.
Cele said police did not yet know the motive, but that he guaranteed the assailants would be found.
South Africa has one of the world's highest murder rates.
Nevertheless, the shooting and two others at the weekend have shocked the nation.
Police say four people were killed at a tavern in Pietermaritzburg late on Saturday (July 9) and two more during a suspected robbery at another bar in Katlehong, outside Johannesburg.
The three attacks, which are not believed to be linked, have unleashed anger at the police for failing to tackle high levels of violent crime.
Cele pledged extra officers in Orlando East for door-to-door searches and more police vehicles.
This was resident Andiswa Mnyembane's response.
"We’ll see by their actions because we no longer believe what they say."
Around 20,000 people are murdered in South Africa every year out of a population of about 60 million.
Campaign group Gun Free South Africa says there are around three million guns registered in the country, with many more thought to be circulating on the black market.
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