The suspect who was wanted for the killing of an off-duty police officer over the weekend died in a gun battle with police officers in Clermont, Durban. Picture: Keran Ducasse
Durban — A wanted police killer was tracked down and killed in a shoot-out with police in a Durban township on Monday afternoon.
Provincial Commissioner of KwaZulu-Natal Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi applauded the multi-disciplinary team that tracked down the suspect in Clermont, Durban.
The suspect, who was wanted for killing an off-duty police officer at the weekend, died in a gunfight with police officers.
KZN police spokesperson Brigadier Jay Naicker said in the early hours of Sunday, March 10, the police officer from Durban Central SAPS and his colleague from KwaDabeka SAPS who were off duty, were visiting a private residence in Clermont when they were attacked in their vehicle.
The dead constable, 34, who was the driver, was killed before he was robbed of his firearm. His colleague, 35, who was also robbed of his firearm, was left unharmed.
The two suspects fled the scene with both policemen’s firearms as well as a wallet and a cellphone.
Naicker said that after an investigation that began after the shooting, police received information that one of the killers was at an informal settlement in Clermont.
“As police officers approached the suspect’s residence, they were met with gunfire. The suspect, who is in his thirties, sustained fatal injuries following the shoot-out. Two firearms were recovered from the suspect’s possession,” Naicker said.
“Detectives are also working on information that the deceased suspect is linked to a string of murders, robberies and car hijackings.”
Naicker said investigations are ongoing to trace his accomplice.
Mkhwanazi thanked the team which did not rest after hearing their colleague was killed and commended them for their bravery when they came under fire from the same person who had killed their team member.
Meanwhile, last month when Police Minister Bheki Cele released the third quarter crime statistics for the 2023/24 financial year, he revealed that 22 police officers were killed between October and December 2023. Ten were killed on duty while 12 were killed off-duty.
Cele said police officers were also able to track down and apprehend 12 police killers during this period. Two police killers were also sentenced and convicted to four life-term imprisonment sentences.
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