Suspect in Durban North shooting, arrested while trying to flee SA

A forensic pathology vehicle parked inside a yard.

A woman was killed and three others wounded in a shooting at a house on Adelaide Tambo Drive in Durban North. Picture: SAPS

Published May 8, 2024

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A Chinese national, wanted in connection with a shooting in Durban North in which a woman was killed and four others injured, was arrested at O R Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg while allegedly attempting to flee the country.

Durban North police had launched a manhunt for the suspect who fled after the shooting on April 28.

“The Mercury” reported last week that a man shot at five people of Asian origin, killing one and critically injuring four others, at a house on Adelaide Tambo Drive.

A domestic dispute was believed to have sparked the shooting while police said the motive was still being investigated.

In a report, police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said the four women were sitting in a room in a rented house when a male companion arrived. He agreed to take them to a nearby shopping centre.

When the group got into the vehicle, another Asian man emerged from inside the house and fired shots.

Netshiunda said one woman sustained fatal gunshot wounds and was declared dead at the scene. The other women were rushed to hospital in a critical condition and the male companion escaped unharmed.

In an update on the case this week, Netshiunda said 36-year-old Chong Cheng, a Chinese national, was arrested at the OR Tambo International Airport on May 1, three days after the incident.

“After a brief first appearance at the Gauteng Regional Court, the suspect also appeared in the Durban Regional Court on May 6 facing one count of murder and four charges of attempted murder,” he said.

Netshiunda said the investigation also uncovered that the suspect had earlier cut a safe open and stole two firearms at a residence on Campbell Drive in La Lucia.

Cheng was remanded in custody and is expected to appear in court again next week.