A GLENWOOD mother escaped a botched hijacking that led to the arrest of two gang members following swift team work by a Blue Security armed response officer and brave residents on Friday morning, 20 January.
Blue Security operations manager Brian Jackson said an armed response officer was driving along Edmonds Road towards Binns Road when he spotted two well dressed men with black sling bags over their shoulders running into Edmonds Road at around 8.30am. The men appeared to be in their late thirties.
“They were being chased by a crowd of people who shouted out to our officer to catch them. He stopped and questioned the men who pointed to a nearby silver/grey Colt double cab and replied that there were armed men in the vehicle. As our officer approached the vehicle it sped off and he gave chase into Binns and ZK Matthews roads,” he said.
Jackson said the officer stopped at a property in ZK Matthews, where a crowd had gathered, to get clarity on what had happened.
According to Jackson, a woman had been targeted in a hijacking. She had been seated in her vehicle and was speaking to another resident in the road when two well dressed men accosted her.
“One of the men pointed a firearm at her and demanded her vehicle keys while the second man removed her purse. She threw her car keys on the floor, jumped out of the vehicle and fled the scene screaming for help,” he said.
Jackson said the suspects attempted to start the vehicle but eventually gave up and ran away.
“Upon hearing what had happened the officer called for back up and immediately pursued the two suspects who he found, still running, at the corner of Deodar and Ormiston Roads. He cornered the men and prevented them from running any further before withdrawing his firearm and demanding that they lie face down on the ground. A back up officer arrived and assisted him further with the arrests,” he said.
Jackson said while they were on their way to the police station a resident reported that a cocked 9mm firearm had been found near the perimeter fence on a property in Deodar Road near the scene of the arrest. The firearm was recovered by the police.
He said the woman’s purse was recovered from one of the men and both suspects were handed over to the Umbilo SAPS.
The Glenwood mother of two, who asked not to be named, said she was thankful that the armed response officer and so many residents had assisted at the scene.
“If it wasn’t for that Blue Security officer being there at that time I don’t think we would have caught them because the getaway vehicle was so close by,” she said.
The mother said her instincts kicked in and she knew that she had to comply and get away.
“He had the gun cocked at my stomach. He didn’t even need to say anything. I know what it was and thought of my children. My immediate reaction was to throw the car keys and run but I was worried about the person who was standing with me so I went screaming down the road and kept looking back. I thought if they started the car that they might chase after me,” she said.
She said they couldn’t start her car because they were using the wrong key and they then just started walking casually down the road.
“They weren’t even running, at first. A guy who was driving past in a bakkie screeched to a stop and turned around to come and help. The community around Binns and Edmonds Roads all came out of their houses to help me. The community was wonderful,” she said.
Jackson commended the bravery of the armed response officer and the residents for taking on the suspects.
“Swift team work between residents, our officers and the police once again has removed two unwanted suspects and their criminal activity from our neighbourhood,” he said.
