Nine suspects were fatally wounded during a shoot-out with police at Desai in Mariannhill in the early hours on Wednesday.
Police from the KwaZulu-Natal provincial stabilisation team acted on intelligence about 11 suspects who had been terrorising residents in Mariannhill and surrounding areas.
Police spokesperson Col Robert Netshiunda said the suspects were also sought after they allegedly gang-raped a girl and made her mother watch during a house robbery.
He said they were also on the police radar for other serious and violent crimes in the area.
“When police caught up with them, intelligence had uncovered the suspects were plotting to execute a hit. Three firearms were found in possession of the suspects,” he said.
A manhunt for two suspects is under way, he added.
“Though police were ambushed when they erroneously knocked at the wrong house, the tactically astute officers managed to retaliate and neutralised the threat with none suffering injuries.”
TimesLIVE
Nine suspects killed in shoot-out with police in Mariannhill, KZN
Suspects were plotting a hit when officers caught up with them
Nine suspects were fatally wounded during a shoot-out with police at Desai in Mariannhill in the early hours on Wednesday.
Police from the KwaZulu-Natal provincial stabilisation team acted on intelligence about 11 suspects who had been terrorising residents in Mariannhill and surrounding areas.
Police spokesperson Col Robert Netshiunda said the suspects were also sought after they allegedly gang-raped a girl and made her mother watch during a house robbery.
He said they were also on the police radar for other serious and violent crimes in the area.
“When police caught up with them, intelligence had uncovered the suspects were plotting to execute a hit. Three firearms were found in possession of the suspects,” he said.
A manhunt for two suspects is under way, he added.
“Though police were ambushed when they erroneously knocked at the wrong house, the tactically astute officers managed to retaliate and neutralised the threat with none suffering injuries.”
TimesLIVE