A shootout occurred between police and suspects near a petrol station in the vicinity of the Pavilion Shopping Mall in Westville, Durban.
Image: ALS Paramedics
A dramatic early-morning pursuit by officials from a security company in Westville ended with two suspects dead following the high-speed chase and a shoot-out near a petrol station in the vicinity of the Pavilion Shopping Centre on Thursday.
The South African Police Service (SAPS) confirmed that they were investigating cases of murder and attempted murder following the altercation.
According to Garrith Jamieson, spokesperson for ALS Paramedics, emergency services were called to the scene at around 6:30 am after reports of a shooting incident.
When paramedics arrived, officers from the SAPS, emergency medical teams and private security officials were already in attendance.
It emerged that there were three occupants in a BMW vehicle at the time who were allegedly involved in a high-speed chase with private security before the pursuit ended at a petrol station along Spine Road.
Police cordoned-off a petrol station in the Westville area, near the Pavilion Shopping Mall, after a shoot-out with suspects.
Image: ALS Paramedics
According to Jamieson, a shoot-out then erupted between the suspects and security officials.
“One of the suspects sustained fatal gunshot wounds during the gun battle,” he said.
The second suspect attempted to evade arrest by jumping over a nearby wall but fell during the escape attempt.
“He tried to flee the scene by jumping over the wall but fell to his death,” Jamieson explained.
A third suspect was not injured and is believed to have been taken into police custody.
Police cordoned off the area while investigators worked to piece together the exact sequence of events that led to the confrontation.
The SAPS’ KwaZulu-Natal spokesperson, Robert Netshiunda, confirmed the incident and the deaths.
Netshiunda said: “Reports indicate that a white BMW vehicle with three occupants drove past private security officers who were patrolling the M19 Road on Thursday morning. The security guards reportedly followed the vehicle and the occupants of the BMW vehicle opened fire at the security guards.
“This led to a high-speed shoot-out between the occupants of the BMW and the security guards, which ended at the fuel station.”
Police’s preliminary investigations revealed that the BMW vehicle was fitted with cloned number plates. The driver of the BMW vehicle surrendered and was arrested. Two firearms were found inside the vehicle.
DAILY NEWS