A man was fatally shot during an alleged shootout with police at the intersection of 4th Avenue and Alfred Nzo Street in Alexandra on September 13.

Alexandra Police Station commander Brigadier Vusimuzi Ngubane said officers conducting a stop-and-search operation flagged a vehicle driven by the deceased as suspicious. Officers stopped the vehicle to conduct a search.

According to Ngubane, a passenger got out and fled on foot, while the driver exited the vehicle and allegedly fired at police. Officers returned fire, fatally wounding the driver, who died at the scene, Ngubane said.

Ngubane said police recovered an unlicensed firearm and ammunition from the deceased. He added that the vehicle had not been reported stolen.

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Police are working to establish whether the deceased had links to local armed robbery cases, Ngubane added. The passenger who fled on foot has not been located.

Furthermore, police have opened cases of attempted murder and murder following the shooting.

The incident adds to what community members describe as an entrenched problem in the area. Ngubane said residents have repeatedly raised concerns about men terrorising the community, noting that the area was previously identified as a hotspot for violent crime.

He confirmed that multiple violent cases have been logged in the vicinity, with suspects allegedly disappearing into the nearby Madala Hostel.

Some community members described the affected zone as stretching from 4th Avenue to 2nd Avenue.

The September 13 shooting is the third fatal shooting reported in the same precinct in as many months. On August 15, the body of a 38-year-old man was discovered on 2nd Avenue. Lieutenant Colonel Mpho Tshetlhane confirmed at the time that the man was fatally shot and declared dead at the scene.

That death followed an earlier incident on July 13, when residents discovered the body of another 38-year-old man at the intersection of 4th Avenue and Alfred Nzo Street, near Madala Hostel. Police said the victim was fatally shot in the late hours of July 12.

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Police have not established a link between the two earlier killings and the latest shootout, but confirmed that all incidents remain subject to ongoing investigations.

Ngubane confirmed that the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) was notified about the shootout.

IPID national spokesperson and director of communications and marketing Lizzy Suping also confirmed that the matter had been reported to the oversight body.

Suping said their investigation has commenced and more information will be released at a later stage.

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