Paramedics who responded to a shooting at a block of flats in the city centre near the Durban high court describe the scene as a "bloodbath". 

While initial reports by paramedics put the death toll at four, Rescue Care's Garrith Jamieson said that three people - including a Durban metro cop - had died during the shooting at the Teesav building in JN Singh Road. 

"On arrival, paramedics were escorted to the apartment and were faced with an absolute bloodbath. Out of the nine, three were fatal - two men and one woman," said Jamieson. 

Five others were injured in the shooting, while a sixth escaped unharmed. The survivors were transported to various hospitals for treatment. 

Metro police spokesman Senior Superintendent Parboo Sewpersad said neighbours told police they heard a commotion before the shooting. 

He confirmed that one of the dead was an off-duty policeman. 

Residents said that the shooting occurred around midday after an argument broke out in one of the flats. They said the nine people were in the same apartment in the four-storey block. 

A woman who lives in the building was still visibly shocked when she told our sister publication Timeslive that she had heard several gunshots but did not know what had happened.

Following the incident, the scene was teeming with numerous metro police officers, SAPS and residents. 

SAPS spokesman Colonel Thembeka Mbele confirmed that three people had been killed and five others wounded. She added that one firearm had been recovered at the scene.