Centurion family attacked – toddler recounts details
Three violent intruders charged at the family with weapons as they arrived home.
A five-year-old Centurion girl remembered the details of an attack on her and her parents by three armed robbers in Mnandi on Sunday night.
The girl’s father, Jaco Botma (26), said the family arrived home around 20:00 after a day out.
His wife Michelle got out of the car to fetch their daughter when she noticed three armed men waiting outside their house.
“They immediately attacked us and we jumped inside the bakkie and locked [the doors]. The men started hitting the bakkie with sticks, a gun and a knife,’ Jaco told Rekord.
Jaco said he started the bakkie and one of the intruders fired a shot through the window.
The bullet skimmed Jaco’s leg before it hit the floor.
“They (robbers) kept screaming they were going to kill us. We started hooting and screaming, making a noise to grab our neighbour’s attention.”
Jaco said he managed to reverse the bakkie and speed away from the scene.
“I think the men also fled.”
During the ordeal, Jaco’s biggest fear was his family’s safety.
“I was scared. I felt the burning in my leg and I knew I was shot. I kept checking if my wife was bleeding and I remember screaming to my daughter to drop down and lay there.”
Security companies were called to the scene.
Jaco said while his daughter was receiving counselling, she recounted the details of the violence.
“She remembered everything in detail. She told the counsellor that guys came with a gun and sticks and her mum was screaming and she heard the gun go off and saw them smashing the windows.”
The motive of the violence was still unclear because Jaco did not suspect that the robbers intended to rob them.
“They (robbers) were waiting for us. They didn’t even try to break into the house or force us into the house to give them our valuables.”
Centurion Concerned Citizens spokesperson Hannes du Buisson said they received a distress call on Zello from Scorpion Risk, that guarded the area.
Patrollers and reaction officers were deployed and the local neighbourhood watch was alerted.
“Within minutes, approximately 40 vehicles responded to this incident. The only way to fight crime is when the community joins hands, and is involved and committed to create a safer community.”
Du Buisson said a case of attempted murder was opened at the Wierdabrug police station.
Also read:
Woman attacked at Fort Klapperkop
Elderly lady attacked with hammer in attempted hijacking
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