Durban -A gunman who has been terrorising the community of Amandawe near Scottburgh, and was accused of a number of murders, has been arrested. The 25-year-old Amandawe man was arrested in the early hours of Wednesday morning in the Ixopo area.
KZN police said in a statement that a 9mm pistol with one live round, cellphones, tablet, watches, sim cards and other items were recovered by police in an operation carried out by Ugu Cluster Operational Control Centre members.
The suspect is expected to appear in the Scottburgh Magistrate’s Court on Friday.
On November 7 police spokeswoman Colonel Thembeka Mbhele said a gunman had accosted three people on October 30, who were walking along Dexter Road in Amandawe near Scottburgh.
He reportedly shot his first victim in the leg and the second in the mouth and shoulder before robbing them of their cellphones and money. A third victim handed his wallet and cellphone over before fleeing for his life.
Then on Friday, November 3, shortly before 8pm, a 34-year-old woman was returning home from work when she was shot in the chest and killed in Amandawe. Mbhele said her brother heard her scream and ran out to see her lying in a pool of blood. He rushed her to the G J Crookes Hospital but she was declared dead on arrival.
Barely 15 minutes later, residents in Ndosi Road - less than a kilometre away - heard a gunshot. Siyabonga Ngcobo, 23, was found lying in the road with a gunshot wound in his neck behind his ear.
“He was pronounced dead at the scene. There was nothing to indicate that he had been robbed,” said Mbhele in a statement.
Soon after, a 23-year-old man was waiting with his 17-year-old sister for their transport at the No. 4 bus shelter when a man wielding a gun robbed the brother of his cellphone at gunpoint. The gunman assaulted the brother and demanded money, at which point the sister, fearing for her life, fled leaving behind her handbag. The brother followed her shortly after.
“The suspect made off with their cellphones, a wallet, money and toiletries.”
In all the incidents, said Mbhele, the suspect was described as a slightly built man in his late 20s, dressed in a pair of blue denim pants and a hooded jacket with a fur lining around the face. The crime scenes were all close together. The firearm used was a 9mm pistol. mur