A Durban North resident has described hearing multiple gunshots on Sunday afternoon during a shooting on a busy road in the upmarket suburb.
Police said a man shot at five people of Asian origin, killing one and critically injuring three, at a house on Adelaide Tambo Drive. It is believed the shooting was sparked by a domestic dispute.
Provincial police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda on Monday said the suspect was still at large.
He said it was reported that the four women were sitting in a room in a rented house when a male companion arrived and agreed to take them to a nearby shopping centre.
He said when the group got into the vehicle, another Asian man emerged from inside the house and fired shots.
“One woman sustained fatal gunshot wounds and was declared dead at the scene. The other women were rushed to hospital in a critical condition.
“The male companion escaped unharmed.”
Netshiunda said Durban North police were investigating the motive. A nearby neighbour, who requested not to be named, said he heard the gunshots and rushed out to see what was happening.
He said there were a number of gunshots in quick succession.
Members of the neighbourhood watch group, several private security companies and ambulance services had responded quickly to the scene and contained it, he added.
“I didn’t know the people, they were very quiet and kept to themselves. I spoke to the guy who rents a room at the back of the house yesterday and he said he heard the shots but stayed in his room.
He didn’t know what was going on,” said the neighbour.
Marshall Security’s Andreas Mathios said it was alleged there had been a domestic dispute between the suspect and the deceased.
All those involved were Chinese nationals, he said.
Darryl Oliver, who is in charge of public relations for the Durban North Community Police Forum (CPF), said there was no link between the shooting and a robbery that occurred at a nearby shopping centre earlier this month.
“We are not seeing an escalation in terms of targeted armed robberies, and any other incidents of alleged shootings, while unfortunate, have been isolated and not part of a trend,” he said.
Oliver said of major concern to the CPF was the number of fraud cases where residents are being scammed out of large sums of money by people posing as bank or cellphone call centre workers.
The Mercury