Grade 10 learner shot dead in front of classmates in KwaNdengezi in KZN, police hunt fellow pupil
A 19-year-old Grade 10 learner was shot dead in front of his classmates at Ndengezi Intermediate School in KwaNdengezi, west of Durban, on Monday morning, as police searched for a suspect who was wearing the same school uniform.
The learner was shot several times inside the school premises on 14 September. Emergency services declared him dead at the scene. His name had not been released by Tuesday as police continued with a murder investigation and a manhunt for the alleged shooter.
KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said the victim and the suspect were seen entering the school together before the shooting. The suspect then ran away from the school grounds.
"Police in KwaNdengezi have opened a case of murder after a 19-year-old learner was shot and killed inside school premises in KwaNdengezi on Monday, 14 September 2026. It is alleged that the victim and the suspect were seen entering the school premises together when the suspect shot the victim several times and the victim was declared dead at the scene. The suspect, who was wearing the same school uniform, fled the scene. The motive for the killing remains under investigation," Netshiunda said.
The shooting unfolded while other pupils were at school, leaving learners and educators dealing with the immediate aftermath of a killing in an environment meant for lessons and daily routine. The police cordoned off the area as investigators worked at the scene. The search for the suspect continued after he escaped, and police appealed for information that could help trace him.
The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education described the killing as deeply disturbing. The department said schools should remain safe spaces where learners can learn and develop without fear, while Education MEC Sipho Hlomuka sent condolences to the learner's family, friends, fellow pupils, educators and the wider Ndengezi Intermediate School community.
"The loss of a learner is always devastating, but for such a tragedy to occur within the school environment is particularly distressing," Hlomuka said.
The department said it remained committed to protecting the safety and wellbeing of learners and staff. The killing has placed fresh attention on the difficulty of keeping firearms and criminal violence away from schools in parts of KwaZulu-Natal, where communities have repeatedly faced shootings near education facilities and disruptions to the school day.
In August 2025, violence linked to a gang conflict in Inanda, north of Durban, led to the closure of JG Zuma High. Weekend classes were also cancelled after clashes between two groups fighting for control of the township. A young man was killed in a shooting during the violence, and authorities feared that the conflict could spill into school grounds.
KwaZulu-Natal Education officials said principals in Inanda and KwaMashu had decided not to allow learners and teachers onto school premises during possible disturbances. The affected schools were required to prepare plans to recover the lost teaching time.
"We were made aware of possible disturbances on Friday in Inanda and KwaMashu, and some principals chose to play it safe and not allow learners and teachers to come to school, but they have provided us with their recovery plans as to what they are going to do to make up for the two days which is Friday and Saturday," education spokesperson Muzi Mahlambi said at the time.
Police were deployed to monitor schools in the area. Netshiunda said the risk was not limited to the streets because violence outside a school could quickly enter the school environment. He said officers would be deployed before, during and after school activities where necessary, particularly where a murder could lead to further shootings during funeral proceedings.
The Inanda violence also highlighted the involvement of young people in organised criminal activity. Police said some gang members were of school-going age, while residents described a climate in which armed groups posed a danger to families and learners. Authorities urged parents to report signs that children were carrying weapons or becoming involved in criminal activity.
The KwaNdengezi killing follows another fatal attack at a Durban school in which a teacher was shot in front of learners. Dudu Khumalo, a teacher at Phikiswayo Primary School in Ntuzuma, north of Durban, was killed in July 2024 after two gunmen entered the school pretending to be parents. The school closed for more than a week as parents feared for their children's safety.
Two men, aged 36 and 41, were arrested in connection with Khumalo's murder in October 2024. Police said an inmate at Westville Correctional Facility was suspected of arranging the killing because Khumalo was expected to testify in a case involving him. Investigators later recovered a firearm believed to have been used in the attack and clothing allegedly worn by one of the suspects.
The incidents have differed in their reported circumstances, but each has brought gun violence directly into or close to a school setting. In KwaNdengezi, the suspect was reportedly dressed like the pupils around him and was seen entering the premises with the victim. That detail has intensified the search for information about how the gunman reached the school and what happened in the moments before the shots were fired.
Police have not announced a motive for the KwaNdengezi killing and have not confirmed whether the suspect is a registered learner at Ndengezi Intermediate School. Investigators are expected to establish the relationship between the victim and the person being sought, identify the weapon used and determine how the suspect entered and left the premises.
For the pupils who witnessed the shooting, Monday's school day became a scene of violence and loss. The victim's family is now preparing to bury a teenager whose life ended inside a place where he had gone to learn, while police continue looking for the person accused of killing him.
The investigation remains active, and the manhunt is continuing in KwaNdengezi.
