HAZYVIEW – Loerie Guest Farm became the latest target of armed robbers and was attacked yesterday morning at 03:30.
This incident took place about 30 minutes after robbers broke into Mountain Creek lodge and left empty handed. It is not known if the two incidents are related.
Two Hungarian tourists were awakened by strange noises to discover that criminals were attempting to break open the front door of the chalet. At the same time another thief was trying to climb through a bathroom window and yet another was trying to break a lounge window.
One of the robbers used a crow bar to try and break the lock of the front door. He managed to create a 40 centimeter gap between the wall and the door at which point the tourists pulled a cabinet in front of the door to prevent it from opening. The tourists asked the robbers what they wanted and one answered “to shoot you”. The frightened tourists started screaming and called for help.
Guest Farm owner, Abrie Visser, heard the screams, grabbed his gun and went to their rescue. Visser approached the chalet carefully and spotted the thieves trying to break into the chalet. He fired a warning shot into the ground. The criminals then started shooting at Visser while running away.
The tourists were not harmed but were severely traumatised by the event. They are part of a group of 24 Hungarian intellectuals on holiday in South Africa. The visitors have cut their holiday short and are returning to their home country today.
Visser contacted Lowveld Media and requested that the incident be covered by the media. “It is time that we stop hiding what is happening in Hazyview. The crime has to be addressed! Keeping quiet about it and trying to hide it will not solve the on-going crime situation in our town,” said Visser.
