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'Lovey, get out your gun'
02/04/2007 23:07 - (SA)
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| Petro and Willie van Niekerk and grandson Driesie, six, look at the pictures she took of suspected ATM robbers. (Alan Murdoch, Beeld) |
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Annelene Moses, Beeld
Johannesburg - Pure adrenaline kicked in to help a couple from Alberton North capture four well-dressed suspected ATM robbers, after a wild car chase.
At about 12:00 on Saturday, Willie van Niekerk, 50, and his wife Petro, 51, wanted to activate a new credit card at a filling station station's ATM at the Andries Pretorius and Van Riebeeck streets intersection in Alberton North.
"There was nobody at the ATM. The machine spat my card out, and suddenly there was a man next to me who said I should put it back in the slot because there was something wrong with the ATM."
Impeccably dressed in Carducci suit
Van Niekerk told the man that he knew what he was doing, but when a second "Good Samaritan" approached them to help he became suspicious and got back into his car.
"I told my wife, Petro: 'Lovey, get your gun out, something's going to happen'."
Van Niekerk said the men were impeccably dressed, and one was wearing a Carducci suit.
He'd hardly finished speaking when they saw two girls at the ATM.
The same men approached the pair, and one of the girls began to scream and cry.
Van Niekerk, who has survived two hijackings, decided the men were not going to get away with it.
The men got into a white minibus without registration plates and the Van Niekerks followed them, with Petro phoning 10111 for the flying squad.
At the corner of 7th Avenue and Gerrit Maritz Street, the minibus made a U-turn.
Petro said: "They were oh-so polite and indicated that they regretted turning in front of us.
"We also made a U-turn, and they knew then that we were following them."
The minibus went through two red traffic lights with the Van Niekerks close behind.
There was a policeman in a car next to the road and they tried to indicate to him what was happening.
At the western ring road, the heavy traffic got the better of the suspects, and the policeman pulled them off the road.
Held them at bay
The officer didn't have a firearm, so Van Niekerk held the men at bay with his wife's revolver.
"I told them that if they went one step further I would shoot. They saw in my eyes that I meant what I said. The police arrived quickly and four were taken into custody."
It was pure adrenaline, said Van Niekerk. Afterwards, he started shaking and had to have two tranquillisers.
"The police said we were very brave, but also very stupid."
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