Three injured in Ashley shooting
Pinetown shootout suspect faces charges
THREE police officers have been charged for attempted murder after they allegedly fired shots at a young couple in Westmead, Pinetown between 8am and 8.30am today.
According to Mergan Govender (23) he was parked in his green Toyota Conquest at his girlfriend, Sherian Naidoo’s work place in Swanfield Road in Westmead, when he heard gun shots from a nearby robbery. His immediate reaction was to get away to a safer place.
“As I drove away, someone jumped in front of my car and I think I knocked him but I drove off. When I reached a safer place on Alexander Road, a marked police vehicle from Pinetown SAPS drove up next to me and open fired on my car. Both my girlfriend and I jumped out of the car and shouted that it’s not us, we’re innocent, but they still fired at us,” said Govender.
During the shootout, between nine to 15 shots were fired injuring Naidoo (18). ER24 arrived at the scene and attended to Naidoo before transporting her to Life Chatsmed Garden Hospital.
Govender said as he was taking photos of his car at the scene, the policeman grabbed his hand, twisted his arm, pulled his Blackberry 9320 from his hand and began to delete the images from his phone.
Fortunately, a relative who witnessed the incident, was close by and he was able to photograph the car with his cellphone.
“More policemen arrived at the scene and barricaded the car with police tape. The officers who fired the shots began to pick up the bullet shells from the floor. When the other officers questioned me, the three policemen initially denied opening fire at us, until the officers found a single bullet shell, which they barricaded as well. I was arrested at the scene and taken to the Pinetown police station without being told what I was being charged for,” said Govender.
Govender’s attorney, Shireen Soobrathi, arrived at the police station after she was contacted by Govender’s family. She said he had been detained by the police without a charge and she was denied access to him.
“I tried to meet with my client for two hours. I spoke to Col Subapathy who refused to let me speak to my client. I then addressed the issue with the station commander, Brigadier Owen Zama, who after a while, instructed the charge office to open an attempted murder docket against the three officers but still did not allow me to speak to Govender,” said Soobrathi.
Eventually, Govender was released and he informed his attorney that he was detained to give his statement and open a charge against the officers.
Meanwhile, Naidoo’s forehead was grazed with a bullet and the gunpowder from the bullet entered a vein which has now caused a blood clot in her brain. She is currently being transferred to another hospital where she will undergo an emergency operation today. Her entire body has been pierced from tiny pieces of the passenger window which shattered during the shooting.
Lt Bongumusa Manqele, communications officer at Pinetown SAPS said he could not comment on the incident as it is still under investigation.
