[WATCH] Imbali killings: One suspect dead, two arrested during 'cleansing'
One of the suspects believed to have been behind the killing of ten family members in Pietermaritzburg has been shot dead.
Police Minister Bheki Cele says another one has been wounded in a shootout with officers, while two have been arrested.
He visited the scene of Friday morning's mass murder in Imbali.
After inspecting the scene of the first shooting, where ten members of the Memela family were killed, the youngest being 13, Cele's convoy moved to the scene of a mass police operation.
Cele said that when police arrived at the home of the family, they found a devastating scene with bodies left all over the home.
He said they received information at the scene about the alleged suspects and moved to another home just a few kilometres away.
Cele said when they arrived at that home, the suspects opened fire.
He confirmed high-ranking detectives are investigating the motive behind the attack.
He says officers are working to link the suspects to the murders.
"The person that was shot and killed is a highly wanted person. Police have been after him for some time. The link is information that the police received that those people who shot here are there doing the cleansing activity.
"As police approached that area, they encountered an exchange of fire and indeed, those people were found to be doing a cleansing there."
Cele says police are also searching for the suspects' traditional healer from eSwatini, who's alleged to have been involved.
Two suspects have been arrested by KZN police & one suspect shot dead following a mass shooting in PMB that led to the death of ten family members. 7 of the deceased are females while 3 are males. Three firearms have been recovered. Police are searching for the fourth suspect. pic.twitter.com/NX8r8MxDW6
— Athlenda Mathe (@AthlendaM) April 21, 2023
