DURBAN - A policeman has been identified as one of three men killed in a shoot-out with police after an armed robbery in eMkhomazi on Tuesday night.
It is believed that the policeman was one of the robbers.
Police are searching for a fourth gang member.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Thulani Zwane said the gang approached a business owner at a supermarket in Roseneath, demanding items.
“They pointed guns at the man and took cash, airtime vouchers and a cellphone before fleeing in a silver VW Polo. Police were alerted and pursued the men. When they saw police, the gang opened fire on them and police shot back,” said Zwane.
The Polo stopped under the N2 bridge and some robbers alighted from the car and fired shots at the police while running away.
Police returned fire, fatally wounding two of the men. A third gang member died en route to hospital, while the fourth man got away.
Moses Dlamini of the Independent Police Investigative Directorate said they had sent an investigator to the scene.
He said a Z88 pistol, a standard-issue police firearm, was found near one of the dead men in the back seat of the Polo. He was in a firing position with one round jammed in the chamber.
Zwane said the Polo was stolen from Berea in 2015.
Major General Bheki Langa, KwaZulu-Natal acting provincial commissioner, said: “The remaining suspect who fled will be apprehended soon. Our police officials will always defend themselves when they come under fire.”