Shot couple 'doing well'

2008-09-01 14:19

Johannesburg - An Alberton couple accidentally shot by the police while returning home from a holiday are doing well in hospital, Gauteng police said on Monday.

"The wife was taken out of the intensive care unit and husband is still there, but doing well," said spokesperson Eugene Opperman.

The couple walked into a robbery at their home in Meyersdal on Thursday night at about 23:00. Several armed men had tied up their son and gang-raped their daughter. When the parents drove into their garage they noticed their car loaded with appliances. The robbers then opened fire on them, Opperman said.

During the commotion someone pressed the panic button, a security company phoned the house, heard a woman screaming and alerted the police.

Two groups of police officers went to the scene. On arrival the first group was shot at, and while taking cover, a car, with its lights off, drove at high speed from the garage towards the second group of police officers.

"Police opened fire on it, thinking it was the robbers fleeing."

According to The Star the couple's Toyota Land Cruiser had 43 bullet holes in it. The man was shot 10 times, his wife five.

The gang ran away. No arrests had been made in connection with the crime and the shooting was being investigated.

Gauteng Safety and Security MEC Firoz Cachalia was expected to visit the couple on Monday afternoon, according to a statement issued by his department. He would be briefed on the progress of the investigation at the Brackendowns police station before visiting the family.

- SAPA