Durban - uMlazi householders are in shock after gunmen stormed the Mzila home and shot four family members in the early hours on Saturday.
According to a family member, they were woken by the front door being kicked in.
Three men entered the house and demanded money and cellphones.
They first shot her brother Zithulele Mzila, 33, who was sleeping in an outside bedroom then proceeded into the main house where they raped Hlengiwe, 30, then murdered her and her mother, Sibongile, 69, and her younger brother, Lungisani, 25.
“One of the assailants ordered my cousin to take off all her clothes and then raped her, while the others were busy collecting the valuables around the house.
“One of their neighbours heard the gunshots and called the police,” said family spokesperson Thulani Mchunu.
The robbers opened fire when police demanded they open the door and one of them was killed in the return
fire.
KZN police spokesperson Colonel Thembeka Mbhele said the three men had earlier gone to a local tavern, where they held up the patrons and robbed them of their cellphones.
They then shot eight people, who are all currently being treated at Prince Mshiyeni Hospital.
Two of the robbers escaped and a manhunt was launched to track them down.
The motive behind the attack is not yet known.
“A 9mm pistol believed to have been used in the family murders was found next to the one (robber) killed.”
Preliminary investigations at the scene revealed the dead robber had been arrested in Umlazi in November for possession of an unlicensed firearm, said Mbhele.