Chinese national held for the Durban North mass shooting

A 36-year-old Chinese national – wanted by police in connection with a mass shooting incident in Durban North recently – was arrested while trying to flee the country, Kwazulu-natal police said on Wednesday.

KZN police said the man was arrested at the OR Tambo International Airport in Gauteng on May 1.

It is not known where he was headed.

The suspect identified as Chong Cheng made a brief first appearance in a court in Gauteng, the SA Police Service (SAPS) said in a statement.

KZN police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said Cheng appeared in the Durban Regional Court on May 6, where he was charged with one count of murder and four counts of attempted murder.

The charges relate to an incident which took place on April 28, at a house on Adelaide Tambo Road in Durban North.

At the time of shooting incident, Netshiunda said four foreign women of Asian origin were reportedly in their rented house, when a man, also of Asian origin, arrived and the women reportedly asked him to give them a lift to the nearby shopping centre.

“When the women and their male friend were getting inside the vehicle, another man, also of the same nationality, 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. The male companion escaped unharmed.”

Following the arrest, police said the investigation also uncovered that the suspect had allegedly cut a safe open and stole two firearms at a residence on Campbell Drive in La Lucia.

Cheng is expected to apply for bail on May 15.