‘They shot at police first’: Inside the KZN operation where five wanted suspects were shot dead
Five suspects were killed in a shootout with police in Inanda, KZN on Thursday morning.
Image: SAPS
Five wanted suspects were shot and killed during a shootout with police in Inanda, north of Durban, on Thursday morning.
Earlier, IOL reported that police said the incident occurred in the Bester area during an operation targeting suspects wanted for serious violent crimes.
The men were wanted for murder, attempted murder and armed robbery.
In an update, KwaZulu-Natal provincial police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda told Newzroom Afrika that police have said the suspects had been on the run for some time.
“These are suspects that police were looking for, for quite some time, for cases of murder, attempted murder and house robberies. At the end of November 2025 these suspects shot at police officers and since then they have been elusive.
“Police picked up intelligence that the suspects were hiding at a house in Area 5 in Bester, Inanda. When police arrived, we announced our presence and the suspects opened fire towards police. The police were left with no other choice but to return fire to protect themselves and those around the house.
“During the shootout, five suspects were shot and fatally wounded. So far, before a thorough search of the house, we have recovered four firearms.”
Netshiunda said the killed suspects are South African nationals.
No police officers were injured during the “dangerous” operation in the early hours of Thursday.
In a separate incident earlier this week, two suspects wanted in connection with the shooting of four people in Ezimangweni, Inanda — which left two people dead and one injured — were killed during a shootout with police in Amaoti, KwaZulu-Natal.
That shooting occurred on Wednesday afternoon and is being investigated separately.
Police said both incidents form part of intensified operations targeting violent crime in Inanda, one of the most crime-affected policing precincts in KwaZulu-Natal.
Investigations into both incidents are continuing.
jonisayi.maromo@iol.co.za
IOL News