WATCH: Hazyview Hi-Tech reaction officer ambushed
The attack occurred near the Engen Garage in Hazyview on Sunday evening.
A veteran Hi-Tech reaction officer was ambushed and shot in the back by two gunmen at about 21:10 on Sunday June 5 in Hazyview.
The officer had been sitting in his car in a parking lot opposite the Engen Garage in town when the incident occurred.
The attack was captured on CCTV and showed two men running towards the vehicle with their guns drawn, firing wildly.
Eight shots in total were fired into the Hi-Tech car before one of the robbers opened the car door, grabbed the car keys and stole the guard’s gun.
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The footage then shows the two men walking off, leaving the car door open and the guard for dead.
Hi-Tech’s Callum mac Pherson said the guard, who is in his forties, was rushed to Kiaat Hospital by a Hi-Tech ambulance with a gunshot wound in his back. He has since been transferred to Mediclinic Nelspruit.
Mac Pherson said the bullet wound was not fatal, however, there are concerns that the bullet may have caused some paralysis.
He said a case has been opened with the Hazyview police.
“The men were not looking for financial gain in this attack. They wanted the gun and that gun will be used in other violent crimes. The robbers didn’t steal the guard’s cellphone, wallet or anything else. It was just the gun they were after.”
He said there has been a sudden rise in armed robberies across the Lowveld in just the last two weeks, with Sunday’s incident being the most recent.
The police had not responded to media queries by the time of posting this.
