Six of the suspects who were wanted for a number of murders and extortion cases were shot and fatally wounded when they engaged in a shootout with police in South Beach, Point area of Durban just before midnight on Monday, 2 September 2024.

Police were tracing suspects who shot five people and killed four of them execution style on Siyaphambili Road in Tshelimnyama in Mariannhill on Sunday night. Five men were seated on the side of the road drinking alcohol when the suspects arrived in a vehicle armed with pistols and a rifle and ordered the victims to lie down before shooting them on the back of their heads.

Police followed information that the suspects were in hiding in Newlands East and upon arrival, further intelligence was collected that the suspects were at a rented holiday apartment on South Beach Avenue in the Point area of Durban. When police announced their presence at the apartment, the suspects opened fire and a shootout ensued. All six suspects were shot and fatally wounded during the shootout
. No police officer sustained any injuries.

The suspects were also linked with a triple murder where three men were shot and killed near a tuckshop on Minitown main road in Mpumalanga township in Hammersdale on Friday afternoon. They were also linked with a Friday evening robbery at a shop on the ground floor of the apartment they were found in. It is also suspected that the suspects were involved in the illicit drug trade.

Prior to a thorough search of the apartment, police had found three firearms in the possession of the suspects. The firearms will be subjected to ballistic testing to ascertain if they could be linked to other crime scenes. Police are also hot on the heels of the person who booked the room for the deceased suspects.

Source: South African Police Service