Durban - One of the robbers killed in a shootout with a cash-in-transit guard in KwaMashu has been identified as a South African mixed martial arts fighter.
Since the Bridge City Shopping Mall incident on Monday, police are still searching for the other suspects of a cash-in-transit gang.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Brenda Muridili said a group of robbers engaged in a shootout with security guards of a cash vehicle. She said two of the robbers were shot dead. She said the remaining robbers fled the scene in a minibus taxi.
"A hand gun and a rifle were recovered on the scene from the robbers. We do not know if any cash was taken," Muridili said.
It is alleged that a gang of seven men tried to hold up CIT guards transferring money to their vehicle.
Muridili said it was an attempted robbery.
Gareth Naidoo a spokesperson for private security company KZN VIP Unit said paramedics treated one of the guards for multiple gunshot wounds at the scene before he was airlifted to hospital by a Netcare 911 helicopter. He is still recovering in hospital.
Pictures of the scene circulating on social media, showed a man on the floor wearing a balaclava and hand gloves with a rifle beside him. He has blood flowing from a wound under his balaclava.
He is also wearing blue jeans and a blue shirt and is laying on his stomach.
The man described above is alleged to be a Mixed Martial Arts fighter Sboh Ceeh Khuboni aka the Destroyer. He was affiliated with Muay Thai MMA Boys. A police source verified his identity.
According to a message on the C-3 Community Crime Cooperative Facebook page.
"MMA fighter. Friends send "condolences" because he was a "kind and gentle soul". It seems getting punched in the head too much brings on lapses in logic. One interesting aspect not yet explored will be the dead suspect's known accomplaces. How many other hardened violent criminals are hiding in plain sight?"
A message from a friend posted on Facebook
A police source confirmed to the Daily News that the deceased was Sboh Ceeh Khuboni who had also been involved in a hijacking incident in Sydenham in 2012 where Shaber Asmal was shot dead outside Sparks Road Mosque parking lot.