Durban — A 42-year-old female police reservist was shot and killed during a police shoot-out with suspects at the Umlazi’s V section on Tuesday night, while two police officers were shot and wounded in Phoenix.
Confirming the fatal shooting, National Police Spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said, “Police officers spotted a suspicious-looking vehicle along Kuyakhanya Avenue and instructed it to stop. When the police approached the car, the suspects allegedly fired shots at them, and the reservist constable sustained gunshot injuries. She was declared dead at the scene.”
Mathe said the suspects fled on foot, leaving their vehicle at the scene.
“The National Police Commissioner has instructed the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi to deploy maximum resources to apprehend the suspects.”
On the Phoenix shooting, Mathe said while SAPS members of the Political Task Team were following up on intelligence information on Tuesday evening, they drove past a suspect’s house in Phoenix.
“When the suspect saw the police driving past, he followed them from a distance. When they parked their police vehicle at a garage, he approached them and began shooting at them.
“A shoot-out ensued and the suspect was fatally wounded. The deceased suspect was found in possession of a handgun, and two magazines – one empty and the other one loaded with 15 rounds of ammunition.
“A subsequent search at his house led to the discovery of another pistol, a rifle, blue lights, mandrax tablets, 12 car keys and a signal jammer.”
She said the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) has been informed for further investigations.
According to Glen Naidoo of the KZN VIP unit, a private security company, it is alleged that two police officers were shot, and one suspect was allegedly shot dead in an exchange of fire between SAPS and the suspects at a busy Westham Garage in Phoenix.
KZN VIP Medics and Response Teams arrived on the scene minutes after the shooting, Naidoo said. Both policemen were treated on the scene by the KZN VIP Ambulance and Netcare before being transported to hospital. No one else was injured as the bystanders had scuttled for safety following the shooting. Phoenix Community Policing Forum member Dinesh Pillay declined to comment, saying the matter was in the hands of the police.
Daily News