An armed suspect has been fatally wounded after opening fire on police in Libode, Eastern Cape, on Friday.
The South African Police Service (Saps) regional spokesperson, Brigadier Nobuntu Gantana, said members of the Saps National Intervention Unit had been acting on received intel regarding a suspect reported to be armed and in possession of illegal firearms when the incident occurred.
Intelligence-led operation on the R61
The intelligence-led operation led members to the R61 East route in the Corhana location towards Libode, where they spotted and identified the vehicle.
“Upon attempts by the police members to intercept and stop the vehicle, the driver stopped the vehicle and immediately opened fire on the officers,” Gantana said in a statement on Friday.
In response to the direct and lethal threat, the police members returned fire, fatally wounding the suspect during the exchange.
Emergency services and crime scene processing
Gantana said Emergency Medical Services were summoned to the scene, where the suspect was officially declared deceased.
“The Local Criminal Record Centre members are currently on-site, processing the active crime scene.
“Preliminary reports confirm that two firearms have been recovered thus far. The scene remains active as investigations continue,” Gantana added.
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She said the Independent Police Investigative Directorate had been notified of the incident in line with standard procedure.
Incident follows deadly shootouts in KZN
The Libode incident comes just a day after five suspects were killed in a shootout with police in Inanda, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN).
The suspects were wanted in connection with cases of murder, attempted murder – including attempted murder of police officers – and house robberies.
The gun battle took place at Bester Area 10 in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said the suspects had been wreaking havoc in the Durban township and surrounding areas.
“At the end of November 2025, the suspects attempted to kill police officers by shooting at them, and they have been elusive since,” Netshiunda said.
However, police brought their alleged acts to an absolute stop after they acted on information about their whereabouts.
This was the third shootout between police and suspects in KZN this week.
Four other suspects were killed in two separate incidents, while another was left injured.
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