KEY POINTS
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Five suspects in a couple’s murder were fatally shot in KZN.
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Police linked the suspects to earlier assassination attempts.
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KZN police say they are committed to stopping deadly violence.
Five individuals who were wanted for the Sunday night murders of a man and his wife in KwaZulu-Natal were shot and killed by police.
Five murder suspects killed in shootout with KZN police
Investigators followed the suspects to Mophela, a neighborhood in Mpumalanga’s Hammersdale township, where they made an effort to apprehend the group.
Officers acted on intelligence and observed the suspects moving on the main route in Mophela, according to police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda.
According to Netshiunda, the suspects fired on the cops first when the police signaled them to stop.
All five of the suspects were shot and killed at the scene of the firefight after police returned fire.
Although officers found three weapons on the suspects, their car had not yet been thoroughly searched.
According to Netshiunda, the group was wanted for the Saturday murder of a 66-year-old man at his home in Ekwandeni.
His wife was killed in a separate strike this February, but the victim had survived an earlier January assassination attempt.
Additionally, police think the suspects were responsible for the killings of two police officers who were killed in other situations.
Investigations are still on, according to Netshiunda, and suspects may be connected to other violent crimes in KwaZulu-Natal that have not yet been solved.
This gunfight comes after four murder suspects were slain by police in Umlazi just a month ago, in another brutal altercation.
KZN police committed to ending deadly criminal activities
In one case, officers found suspects at a mall after receiving information about their involvement in several deaths in the Inanda area.
The suspects tried to escape in a car as the police arrived, which resulted in a fast-paced pursuit on the M4 Highway.
According to The Citizen, the suspects started shooting as police were closing in, so officers retaliated in self-defense to end the threat.
There were no injuries to any police officers during the gunfight, but all four suspects were shot dead.
Law enforcement is still dedicated to maintaining community safety and removing armed criminal threats throughout the state, Netshiunda underlined.
