CIT robbers shoot man on school run
A man and his children were shot at while he was taking them to school yesterday morning.
MBOMBELA – The assailents committed a cash-in-transit heist on Long Tom Pass earlier on Monday.
A 44-year-old man, who did not want to be identified as the suspects are still at large, and his two children, aged 14 and nine, were travelling in Sir Percy Fitzpatrick when a white Mercedes-Benz and a blue Ford Focus passed them in a reckless manner.
The 14-year-old said, “My father was worried they were going to cause and accident and he chased after the Ford Focus. Then the white Mercedes passed us and stopped at Ibis Street. A man got out with a big gun. My dad pushed me and my brother down and lay on top of us and the man shot at us. My father was hit in the arm.”
The man’s wife was at work when she received a call from her husband. “He told me he had been shot in the arm. I asked him if he could drive and he said yes, so I told him to drive immediately to Mediclinic Nelspruit,” she said.
The wife was visibly shaken and burst into tears, saying they could have all been killed. “If he did not lay down to protect the children, they would have shot him straight in the chest. You can see by the bullet hole in the bakkie.
They shot at him twice, the one bullet went through the windscreen and hit him in the arm. The other one went into the bonnet and I think he struggled to get to the hospital due to this.”
An eyewitness on the scene said he was driving from Stonehenge on Percy Fitzpatrick at around 07:15.
“I saw the bakkie coming from the opposite direction. I saw the white Mercedes-Benz overtaking it and pulling into Ibis Street. One man jumped out. He was wearing a blue jacket and jeans. He took out an R5 and started firing at the bakkie. The man got back into the Mercedes and they drove towards Stonehenge. I could not see how many men were in the Mercedes as the windows were tinted.”
Bossies Community Justice’s (BCJ) Albert Gryvenstein found seven R5 casings at the scene.
Mediclinic Nelspruit spokesman, Robyn Baard said the man was in theatre as he had sustained a gunshot wound to his arm. He was in a stable condition.
Earlier that morning, the same vehicles were involved in ambushing a security vehicle at around 06:10 on the R537.
Police spokesman, Sgt Gerald Sedibe said that a white Mercedes-Benz had rammed into the security vehicle, which was driving towards Lydenburg, causing it to overturn.
“Another white Mercedes, a blue Ford Focus, an Audi and a Jeep Cherokee were used by the suspects to ambush it. The gang shot at the guards and held them up at gunpoint. They assaulted some with the butts of their weapons,” said Sedibe.
The suspects used explosives to access the money bags in the back of the van, then fled the scene.
Police found the Jeep Cherokee abandoned on the N4 near the Sudwala Caves turn-off. Inside they retrieved some of the money, firearms and explosives.
Hi-Tech Medical Services manager, Freek Esterhuizen and his team responded to the call-out. “We treated the guards for assault wounds and those as a result of the accident. None had sustained any gunshot wounds and they were in a stable condition.”
They rushed the men to Mediclinic Nelspruit.
SBV Services CEO, Mark Barrett, said, “We are offering a R1-million reward for information leading to the successful arrest and conviction of the perpetrators”. He said they were appealing to the public to come forward with any information on the attack.
They can call the SBV early warning robbery hotline on 083-408-7029.
