Three suspected members of West Gang killed in shootout with police

Police said the search of other suspects continues.

The suspected gang members were shot dead early on Wednesday morning. Picture: iStock

Three suspects believed to be members of the West Gang have been killed in a shootout with KwaZulu-Natal police.

Members from the Hawks tracking and anti-gang units, South African Police Service and eThekwini crime intelligence cornered the group in La Mercy in Durban in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Shootout

Police spokesperson Brigadier Jay Naicker said they received intelligence that a group involved in serious crimes including murders committed in the Inanda area were hiding at Lungelani informal settlement in La Mercy.

“Realising that they were surrounded, the suspects opened fire at the police and a shootout ensued. Three suspects were fatally wounded during the shootout and two pistols were found in the possession of the suspects. It is believed that other members of the group managed to escape during the shooting.

Naicker said the search of other suspects who have been terrorising the residents of KwaZulu-Natal continues.

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“Police will stop at nothing in executing their constitutional mandate of combatting, preventing and investigating crime.”

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Inanda shootings

Earlier this month, six suspects died in a shootout with police officers in Inanda.

The suspects were shot at a house in Emachobeni.

Naicker said information about the whereabouts of the suspects wanted for a spate of house robberies, murders, business robbery and carjacking led them to the house.

“Intelligence led the police to a house in Emachobeni in Inanda. Upon announcing their arrival, the suspects responded with a hail of bullets towards the police and the men of the law returned fire. After the shootout, six suspects were found to have suffered fatal gunshot wounds and three more suspects, two men and a 31-year-old woman, were arrested.

“One police officer was grazed with a bullet on the hand,” said Naicker.

A day later, two suspects were fatally wounded in a shootout with police also in Inanda.

Police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said officers were following up on intelligence, which led them to a property in Inanda where individuals who were suspected to have been involved in the killing of three people and the attempted murder of seven others in Newlands were hiding.

“A simultaneous operation at Eskebheni and Emaplazini in Inanda saw the police having to take cover from the suspects’ gunfire. Police returned fire, sparking a shootout. After the shootout at both crime scenes, two suspects, aged 34 and 39, sustained fatal gunshot wounds,” said Netshiunda.

ALSO READ: Six suspects dead in shootout with police in Inanda, KZN