The man, his wife (63), and their two grandchildren, aged 14 and 7, were asleep in their home in an estate on Schubart Street at around 01:00 when four robbers broke into the house. The suspects gained entry by breaking a kitchen window. Two remained outside while the other two confronted the couple in their bedroom.
“My parents only woke up when the robbers were already in their bedroom. My children were in the next-door bedroom. The robbers demanded my parents’ cellphones, which they handed over, and then asked for money.
At the same time, my children woke up when the dog started barking and came to the bedroom door. One of the robbers grabbed my son by the neck. When my parents said they had no money in the house, the other robber shot my father in the face,” the couple’s daughter said. The robbers then fled the scene.
“My children locked themselves in the bathroom, and my mother drove to the security gate to ask for help. She did not realise that the robbers had not taken my children’s cellphones. In the meantime, my son phoned me, and I alerted all the security companies and emergency services I could think of,” she said.
According to Riaan Britz of the Emergency Response Team Harties (ERTH), who was first on the scene, the bullet entered the victim’s jaw and exited at the back of his neck before lodging in a window frame.
“Hartbeespoort police and Hartbeespoort Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) arrived shortly afterwards,” Britz said. According to Leandre Spies of HEMS, the seriously wounded man was taken to a hospital in Brits before being transported to Milpark Hospital in Johannesburg for specialised care.
“Paramedics also examined the boy, who had marks on his neck, but he was not seriously injured,” Spies said. “My father is currently in the intensive care unit. His condition is stable. We want to thank ERTH, HEMS, the security services, and everyone who assisted us,” the couple’s daughter said. Hartbeespoort News is awaiting comment from the police
