KwaZulu-Natal community safety MEC Mxolisi Kaunda has vowed to capture the gang of men responsible for a brutal shooting‚ murder and rape spree in Umlazi‚ Durban‚ in the early hours of Saturday morning‚ in which four people died.

He said police have been ordered to work around the clock to bring the gang to book.

As many as four men shot at least eight people at a shebeen in Umlazi on Saturday before moving to a nearby house. There they executed two brothers‚ murdered their mother and sister‚ and then raped their other sister. They were interrupted by police‚ who were alerted by neighbours.

One of the men shot at police‚ who returned fire. The man was killed on the steps of the house. The remaining suspects are on the run.

“We are deeply shocked at this barbaric act and wish to advise that those responsible to hand themselves over to the police before they are all rounded up. One again‚ the availability of illegal firearms have reared its ugly head with sorrowful consequences.

“We are doing all we can to have these weapons of murder and mayhem removed from our communities. We urge all our people to work with the police to ensure that his happens soonest‚” said Kaunda.

Police said preliminary investigations at the scene revealed that the deceased suspect was arrested in November last year for possession of an unlicensed firearm in the Umlazi area.