One suspect shot dead, 2 arrested after gunmen kill 10 of family in South Africa

Cape Town: A suspect has been shot dead and two people have been arrested in connection with mass shooting of 10 people of a family in coastal KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa, police said on Saturday.

Some gunmen stormed into a home at Imbali Township, Pietermaritzburg of the province and shot dead seven women and three men of the family on Friday morning. The police received information from the community and acted on it which resulted in the arrest, the police said, Xinhua News Agency reported.

“Less than two kilometres away from the scene of the incident, a shootout ensued when police confronted four men participating in a ‘cleansing ceremony’ conducted by a traditional healer. Police arrested two of the four suspects. One suspect escaped while another was fatally shot,” the police said.

Among the 10 killed, there is a 13-year-old boy, according to the police.

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KwaZulu-Natal Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube on Friday expressed outrage about the incident and called on the law enforcement agents to act swiftly and arrest the suspects.

KwaZulu-Natal Province will contribute at least 10 million rands (about 552,000 U.S. dollars) towards the fight against crime, Dube-Ncube said, adding that they will embark on an intensive community mobilization campaign against crime following a spate of violent crimes including multiple murders and gender-based violence.

(IANS)