A family whose father and 10-year-old daughter were shot during an alleged attack near Delmas fears for its safety after the 62-year-old accused was granted R13 000 bail this morning (October 22) in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court.

The mother told Rekord that she was struggling to explain the development to her terrified daughter, who was shot in the arm during the incident.

She also raised concerns about the accused’s firearms, saying her understanding of the court proceedings was that only two of his 14 firearms had been confiscated. This has not been independently confirmed.

The accused, Kobus Strecker, faces three charges of attempted murder.

Dispute allegedly escalates into shooting

As Rekord previously reported, the incident allegedly followed an unresolved payment dispute between Strecker and the woman’s husband, a contractor who had previously done business involving the cutting and collection of wood.

According to the mother, a younger man contacted her husband in August about cutting a wattle bush. He contacted him again in October and asked him to inspect the work.

The family decided to visit the site after seeing a relative in hospital. The younger man allegedly met them and led them past a house, deeper into a farm in the Boschkop area.

While the men discussed the work, they were told that the property owner was on his way.

The woman said a bakkie then approached at speed. The family recognised the driver as the man involved in the earlier payment dispute after hearing his name from his worker.

Fearing trouble, she told her husband and daughter to get into their bakkie after Strecker allegedly nearly hit them with his vehicle as he rushed towards them.

She alleged that the man approached her husband carrying an axe and threatened him. Her husband climbed into their vehicle and began reversing before the man allegedly drew a firearm and opened fire.

Father and daughter shot as family flees

The woman previously described how her husband shouted for their daughter to take cover as bullets struck their bakkie.

“My husband shouted for our daughter to duck and take cover. She slipped behind his seat,” she said.

Her husband was shot in the arm, while their daughter sustained a gunshot wound to her arm and required stitches.

The mother said her husband continued driving while she tried to stop his bleeding by removing her dress and wrapping it around his injured arm.

According to the woman, Strecker also pulled alongside them and shouted for them to stop so they could talk.

Her husband shouted back that both he and their daughter had been shot and that they needed to get the child to hospital. Strecker allegedly fired again as the family continued driving without coming to a complete stop.

The woman tried to contact police and a friend for help but could not secure assistance during the chaos.

Family flees on foot after bakkie stops

The family eventually turned into another farm, where their bakkie’s engine seized. They fled on foot towards a workshop to seek assistance.

“I told my daughter to run as soon as the bakkie stopped. I jumped out in my slip and ran,” the woman said.

According to her, police, security personnel and an ambulance subsequently arrived to assist them.

She alleged that the shooter turned around approximately 500m from where the family’s vehicle had stopped.

The accused allegedly fled from police and went into hiding before investigators and security personnel arrested him the following morning.

The mother said more than 15 shots had been fired and that more than 12 bullet holes were initially found in the family’s bakkie, with further damage discovered later. She previously described the vehicle as having more than 15 bullet holes.

“It is a miracle that we were not killed,” she said.

The family now faces the prospect of the accused being released on bail while they continue to deal with the physical and emotional aftermath of the attack.

The accused has not been convicted, and the allegations remain subject to court proceedings.

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