In what seemed to have been a well-planned, gang-style robbery, seven armed men descended simultaneously on the Spar and Tops in 33rd Avenue in Villieria on Thursday 13 February 2014 at around 11am.
A brave eyewitness who was in Tops at the time of the incident, later told police how the robbers had tied a female employee’s hands and feet and assaulted her. The robbers also pistol-whipped the manager in the face and shot an elderly female customer in the leg as they made off with their loot.
The witness, Ms Ancelize van der Kooi who is a member of Kilnerpark Security, rushed to assist the wounded customer before alerting the police. “Everything happened so fast we could not believe our eyes. Blood was streaming down the manager’s face and the elderly lady was in severe shock. According to Mr Frikkie Gous, spokesperson for LifeMed Ambulance Services, they managed to stabilise the 71-year-old woman after which she was taken to a nearby hospital. According to Mrs Freda van der Berg, the elderly lady’s daughter-in-law, the patient, who wants to remain anonymous, is doing reasonably well under the circumstances.
After their violent spree the robbers apparently divided into two groups and fled the scene. Fortunately an alert resident in the parking lot saw the whole robbery go down and hurriedly wrote down a getaway vehicle’s registration number on a piece of cloth and gave it to Ms van der Kooi who handed it to members of the Moot police. The men in blue made quick work of it and managed to arrest four suspects the very next day.
“These types of robbery is just another example of how little respect there is for other people’s lives and property. Why did they have to assault our employees so ruthlessly and shoot a harmless old lady? As Villieria community members we are very fortunate and grateful that our local police (Moot and Villieria SAPS) and emergency services are so quick to react. I shudder to think of what must be going through the minds of Somali shop owners as they are forced to watch helplessly how their shops are being looted and their premises destroyed.
We cannot help but wonder how long before it is going to start happening in our suburbs as well. The audacity of these criminals is just unbelievable. This type of crime makes us question the safety and security of tax-paying citizens who want to invest in business in this country. Business robberies result in an escalation in our insurance premiums and we are forced to raise our retail prices, which in the end unfortunately means even less goods for their money for our poorer clients.
I hope the courts make an example of these robbers and that they are forced to deal with the consequences of their criminal acts. They did not even steal food, they stole luxury items,” a visibly upset shop owner said.
Police members from both the Moot and Villieria Police Stations expressed their appreciation towards the public for their vigilance and efforts in assisting the police. “We are also very grateful towards the MonAmi Trauma Troops who provided counselling to the employees after the incident,” WO Austin-Swanepoel said.
She confirmed that the robbers had made off with around R22 000 in cash, R7000’s worth of cigarettes and R4000’s worth of liquor. A case of business robbery has been opened and the investigation is ongoing.