A 36-year-old man wanted in connection with a mass shooting in Durban North, where one person was killed and three others were shot and wounded, made his first appearance at the Durban Regional Court on Monday.

Chong Cheng, a Chinese national, was arrested at O.R. Tambo International Airport as he attempted to flee the country on May 1.

Police launched a manhunt for the suspect after he fled the scene of a shooting at a home on Adelaide Tambo Road (Kensington Drive) on April 28.

During the incident, it is alleged that Cheng opened fire on five people, killing one woman and injuring three others.

Provincial police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said the suspect made a brief first appearance at the Gauteng Regional Court following his arrest.

“The suspect also appeared in the Durban Regional Court facing one count of murder and four charges of attempted murder. He was remanded in custody and will be in the dock on May 15. The investigation also uncovered that the suspect had earlier cut a safe open and stolen two firearms at a residence on Campbell Drive in La Lucia,” he said.

The motive for the shooting remains unknown, but at the time of the incident, law enforcement and several paramedics responded to the crime scene after the shooter fled.