Three people were fatally shot and one person escaped unharmed when armed gunmen stormed homes in Inanda on Tuesday. 

KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Col Robert Netshiunda said a search is under way for the suspects who opened fire on residents in Mpunzi Road in Nhlungwane area in Inanda in the early hours.

“Police found two bodies, a man believed to be in his early 40s and a 24-year-old woman, on the road with multiple gunshot wounds. They were declared dead at the scene,” he said.

“They found the body of a man, believed to be about 50 years old, inside his cottage room with gunshot wounds. His neighbour was shot at but survived unharmed.

“Information at this stage suggests an unknown number of suspects shot a man and woman and proceeded to a nearby house where they demanded keys for a minibus taxi from female occupants in the house. The females escaped unharmed and the suspects took the spare key for the minibus.

“The same suspects are believed to have continued to cottages down the road, where they shot the third victim and took original keys before driving off in the minibus. The vehicle was found abandoned in the Ntuzuma area.”

Netshiunda said on Monday evening a man was shot and killed a few metres from where the man and the woman were killed. It is not yet clear if the incident is linked to the triple murder.

Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of the suspects or any information that may assist in the investigation is urged to contact the nearest police station or call the Crime Stop number, 08600-10111.

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