Police said the nine suspected criminals who were shot and killed in a shoot-out with police had allegedly been terrorising the community of Marianhill in Durban.
The suspects were among a group of 11 people who have been on the police’s radar for serious and violent crimes.
KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said members of the KZN Provincial Stabilisation Team pounced on the group in the early hours of Wednesday morning in the Desai, Mariannhill area.
“The suspects were also being sought in connection with a case of rape where they allegedly gang raped a girl and made her mother watch the ordeal during a house robbery,” Netshiunda said.
“They were also on police's radar for serious and violent crimes in the area.”
Netshiunda said the shoot-out happened after police intelligence uncovered that the suspects were plotting to execute a hit on someone.
“Three firearms have so far been found in possession of the suspects and a search is still ongoing.”
He said a manhunt for two outstanding suspects was under way.
Netshiunda said that although the police were ambushed when they erroneously knocked at the wrong house, the “tactically astute” officers managed to retaliate and neutralized the threat with none of them suffering any injuries.
IOL News