Police killed six suspects in a early morning shootout Thursday near South Africa’s coastal city of Durban, saying they had targeted a gang after a spate of house robberies and murders.
South Africa’s crime statistics have been steadily rising over the past few months. The southern African country, one of the most dangerous in the world, recorded three murders every hour in the first three months of 2023.
“Police operationalised intelligence about the whereabouts of the suspects who were wanted for a spate of house robberies, murders, business robbery and carjacking,” the South African Police Service (SAPS) said.
When police arrived at a house in Inanda, a crime-ridden township northwest of the port city, they were met with a “hail of bullets”. Three suspects, a woman and two men, were arrested.
Police minister Bheki Cele who visited the area on Thursday afternoon told local media that police had found expensive alcohol and technology in the house.
The shootout lasted for about 25 minutes, Cele said.
“Thank God our police survived … kudos to the police who have come tops,” he said.
According to police, two rifles and a shotgun were found in the house as well as a vehicle that was stolen in December.
Last September, police killed eighteen people in a foiled cash-in-transit heist shootout in the country’s northeast.