Following four separate murder incidents in Walmer, Eastern Cape, on Thursday, 21 May 2026, police launched a manhunt for the suspects.
According to the South African Police Service (Saps), investigators are deciding whether the incidents may be linked due to the frequency and location of the crimes.
The first incident
The first incident occurred around 7:35am. Walmer Saps first responders attended to a murder at the old graveyard in Grand West.
When police arrived, community members led them to the body of a 37-year-old male who was covered with a blanket.
After the blanket was removed from the body for identification purposes, police found that the deceased has sustained multiple gunshot wounds to the head and another to the left hand.
Second incident
In the second incident that took place around 9am, police discovered the body of a 56-year-old foreign national male inside a residence in Phela Kula Street, Area Q.
Preliminary investigations indicated that the victim sustained gunshot wounds to the left cheek and left ribs. The circumstances surrounding this incident are still under investigation.
Multiple gunshot wounds
During the third incident, police responded to a complaint in the bushes near Airport Valley, where the bodies of three unknown males were found lying with their hands tied at around 10:15am.
All three had sustained multiple gunshot wounds.
In the fourth incident, which occurred shortly after 10:35am, while officers were processing crime scenes in the area, a shepherd alerted police to another body that was discovered opposite the Solomon Mahlangu squatter camp.
Police discovered the body of a 23-year-old male with multiple gunshot wounds to the head, arms and legs, as well as visible bruises on the body.
Names of deceased
Saps said the names of the deceased will be released only after formal identification processes have been completed and the next of kin have been informed.
The investigation into all the murders is ongoing as detectives are working to determine whether the incidents are connected.
Five arrested after police shootout
Meanwhile, in Gauteng, five suspects were arrested on Thursday, 21 May 2026 by members of the Gauteng Tactical Response Team (TRT), Crime Intelligence and other enforcement agencies.
One suspect was fatally wounded during an intelligence operation at the N12 and Xavier Road in Winchester Hills.
This comes after a white Isuzu bakkie was hijacked in Germiston where the victim was kidnapped and forced to accompany the suspects.
Hijacked cars
During the interception, police identified additional vehicles believed to have been used by the suspects as convoy vehicles,
Two suspects fled into bushes nearby and opened fire on police, resulting in a shootout where one suspect was fatally wounded at the scene. Police reports have noted that the victim was rescued unharmed.
After recovering an unlicensed firearm with ammunition and the hijacked Isuzu bakkie, three additional vehicles that were allegedly used by the suspects were also seized, including: a Mitsubishi SUV, a VW Polo and a Volvo.
Cases of attempted murder, possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition, possession of a hijacked motor vehicle, carjacking and kidnapping have been opened against suspects.
