“Their most recent murder happened in January this year so there are many murders that we know they were involved with. Not only murder, there were robberies in the area that they were involved in,” he said.
He could not confirm whether they were linked to any group but said police were still looking for a number of “youngsters” in the area.
This incident comes less than a week after four other suspects were killed in a shoot-out with police in Sydenham, Durban.
Reflecting on the state of policing in the province in the first quarter of the year, Mkhwanazi said on Friday that at least 31 suspects had been killed during shoot-outs with the police since the beginning of April.
There had been concerns, expressed on social media, that the shoot-outs, instead of arrests, might be a tactical approach by the police in the province.
However, Mkhwanazi denounced such claims, reiterating that the fact police had made considerably more arrests than the number of those killed showed police always aimed to arrest suspects and take them through the justice system. However, if suspects opened fire, officers would defend themselves.
“We’ve arrested more than 30,000 suspects this last quarter and we continue doing so. Our job is to bring every lawbreaker to court, that is our intention. Some of them don’t want to surrender and put up a fight and that’s why we find ourselves in these situations.
“Police don’t find joy in these incidents. Now we need to send these members for counselling, which makes them not available for operations.”
As of Friday, KwaZulu-Natal police had made 35,145 arrests since April — 11,192 for violent crimes such as murder, rape and assault — and recovered 953 firearms as well as thousands of rounds of ammunition.
TimesLIVE
Three suspects killed in another shoot-out with police in KZN
As of Friday, KwaZulu-Natal police had made 35,145 arrests since April
KwaZulu-Natal police shot dead three suspects and wounded another in the Congo area of Inanda, to the north of Durban, on Tuesday evening.
A multidisciplinary team comprising members of the Provincial DPCI Tracking Team, the Hawks Anti Gang Unit, KZN Provincial Tactical Response Team, Pietermaritzburg K9 unit, Inanda Task Team and private security acted on intelligence about the whereabouts of the suspects who have been on police's radar for some time.
The incident happened less than a kilometre from Inanda police station at 7pm.
According to a police statement, when the team arrived at the identified house on Nombonjani Mtshali Road, four suspects opened fire and a shoot-out ensued.
“After the shoot-out, three suspects were found to have fatal gunshot wounds and were declared dead at the scene. One suspect narrowly escaped arrest and ran into the darkness. A manhunt is under way.”
KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi confirmed that the suspects were “youngsters” linked to many violent crimes including murders and robberies.
“Their most recent murder happened in January this year so there are many murders that we know they were involved with. Not only murder, there were robberies in the area that they were involved in,” he said.
He could not confirm whether they were linked to any group but said police were still looking for a number of “youngsters” in the area.
This incident comes less than a week after four other suspects were killed in a shoot-out with police in Sydenham, Durban.
Reflecting on the state of policing in the province in the first quarter of the year, Mkhwanazi said on Friday that at least 31 suspects had been killed during shoot-outs with the police since the beginning of April.
There had been concerns, expressed on social media, that the shoot-outs, instead of arrests, might be a tactical approach by the police in the province.
However, Mkhwanazi denounced such claims, reiterating that the fact police had made considerably more arrests than the number of those killed showed police always aimed to arrest suspects and take them through the justice system. However, if suspects opened fire, officers would defend themselves.
“We’ve arrested more than 30,000 suspects this last quarter and we continue doing so. Our job is to bring every lawbreaker to court, that is our intention. Some of them don’t want to surrender and put up a fight and that’s why we find ourselves in these situations.
“Police don’t find joy in these incidents. Now we need to send these members for counselling, which makes them not available for operations.”
As of Friday, KwaZulu-Natal police had made 35,145 arrests since April — 11,192 for violent crimes such as murder, rape and assault — and recovered 953 firearms as well as thousands of rounds of ammunition.
TimesLIVE
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