• Four people were killed on Sunday after the taxi they were in was shot at in KwaZulu-Natal.
• Police arrested one person during a shootout and charged him with murder and attempted murder.
• Two more attackers are still at large.

A KwaZulu-Natal man was arrested during a shootout with police and charged with the murder of four people who were killed when the taxi they were in was shot at over the weekend.

South African Police Service (SAPS) spokesperson Colonel Thembeka Mbele said a taxi carrying 13 people was shot at in the early hours of Sunday morning in the Cacaneni area in Ekombe.

“Four people, aged between 24 and 56, were declared dead at the scene. One passenger was injured while others escaped unharmed. Charges of murder and attempted murder were opened for investigation by the Ekombe SAPS,” Mbele said.

Investigations led police to a vehicle in Babanango in northern KwaZulu-Natal and when they approached a shootout ensued.

READ | Four arrested for Sandton residential burglary after getaway car crashes into taxi

“During the crossfire, the police managed to arrest a 40-year-old suspect. The suspect was found in possession of an illegal firearm and ammunition. Police also seized the vehicle used by the suspect,” Mbele said.

The man was charged with the illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition, murder and attempted murder and is set to appear in the Babanango Magistrate’s Court on Monday.

Mbele said police were still on the hunt for two more attackers who fled the scene during the shootout.

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