Police forensic analysts at a house in Inanda where five suspects were shot dead in a shootout with police on Thursday morning. KwaZulu-Natal has seen a series of deadly police shootouts over the past three days, with nine suspects shot and fatally wounded during separate operations in Inanda and along the South Coast as police pursued individuals linked to violent crimes and illegal firearms. Themost recent incident occurred in the early hours of Thursday morningat Bester Area 10 in Inanda.
In a media statement issued by the Office of the Provincial Commissioner of the South African Police Service in KwaZulu-Natal, police said, “Five suspects who were wanted in connection with cases of murder, attempted murder, including attempted murder of police officers and house robberies were shot and fatally wounded in a shootout with police at Bester Area 10 in Inanda.” Police said the suspects had been “wreaking havoc in the area of Inanda and its surroundings.” According to SAPS, the group had previously targeted police officers. “At the end of November 2025, the suspects attempted to kill police officers by shooting at them, and they have been elusive ever since.” On Thursday, police acted on fresh intelligence. The statement said, “On Thursday morning, police received information about their whereabouts and the intelligence was operationalised.” When officers arrived at the house, the suspects allegedly opened fire.
“When police arrived at the scene, the suspects fired shots towards police officers through the door.” Officers returned fire and “during the shootout, five suspects were shot and fatally wounded.” Four firearms were recovered at the scene, and police confirmed that “a thorough search of the house was yet to be conducted.” SAPS also confirmed that “no police officer was injured during the shootout.” The incident follows another deadly confrontation in Inanda just a day earlier. On Wednesday afternoon, January 7, two suspects linked to a multiple shooting were killed during a police operation in Amaoti.
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