News24 | Three men, believed to have murdered KZN cop, killed in police shootout

Police killed three people in Inanda suspected of being responsible for the death of a sergeant in 2023. (@SAPoliceService/X)

• A police shootout resulted in the deaths of three people on Tuesday evening.
• The trio are believed to have killed a police officer in 2023.
• One person escaped and is still at large.

Three people, wanted by the police for murder, were killed in a shootout with officers in KwaZulu-Natal on Tuesday evening.

According to police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda, the three men, "who have been on police's radar for some time", were wanted for a string of murders, including the 2023 murder of a police sergeant.

They were killed in the Congo area of Inanda.

A multidisciplinary team followed up intelligence that the wanted men were at a house on Nombonjani Mtshali Road. When police arrived, four people opened fire on them, said Netshiunda.

"After the shootout, three suspects were found to have sustained fatal gunshot wounds and were declared dead at the scene. One suspect narrowly escaped arrest and ran into the darkness. A manhunt for him is currently under way," said Netshiunda.

READ | 30 people have been killed in police shootouts

The three men are believed to have been behind the murder of a member of the KwaMashu Tracking Team, who was disarmed and shot with his service firearm in June last year.

They were also thought to be linked to a double murder in Inanda in January, as well as another two murder cases which were registered in 2021 and 2023.

More than 30 people have been killed in police shootouts since the start of April, News24 previously reported.

This was revealed by provincial police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi during a media briefing in Durban on Friday. 

Mkhwanazi said: "These were hardened criminals who were found in possession of firearms, some of them high-calibre rifles. It is important for me to mention that police investigate to arrest the suspects and take them through the justice system.

"However, if suspects shoot at police officers and put their lives in danger, police will retaliate with proportional force to save their lives and those of innocent community members."