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Robber shot in the penis
05/04/2007 08:00 - (SA)
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| One of the weapons abandoned by the hijackers lies in the road at Glenhazel after a hijacking at a place of safety. (Simphiwe Mbokazi, Beeld) |
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Amanda Roestoff, Beeld
Johannesburg - A suspected robber who was taking refuge at a place of safety for people with HIV/Aids was shot in his private parts through the windscreen of a car by one of the crew of a police helicopter hovering above.
The attempted cash-in-transit robbery began at about 13:30 on Wednesday when between 15 and 20 armed men struck a Coin security van on the corner of Second Street and Fourth Avenue in Orange Grove.
The Coin security guards were on a routine trip when the incident occurred.
Four or five vehicles, including a luxury Mercedes-Benz were used to force the van off the road.
Some suspects still at large
Robbers clad in bulletproof vests and carrying R5 assault rifles opened fire on the security guards.
A bullet grazed an 86-year-old man's head as he walking along in Second Street and bullets started flying wildly around him, an emergency worker said.
André Pool, 26, a security guard at Zamalak Black Hawk Security who was apparently moving with the Coin van, suffered shrapnel wounds in the stomach.
Both men were taken to Milpark hospital for treatment and are stable, Mark Stokoe of Netcare 911 said.
The robbers grabbed money boxes and split in different directions in their getaway vehicles, including a brand new Colt bakkie.
One robber was arrested at the scene, thanks to quick action of the police.
Various police units took part in the wild chase that followed and several shots were fired.
A police reservist noticed the bakkie without number plates and followed it to Glenhazel.
The police highway patrol, the flying squad, as well as the air unit were called in to follow the trail of the men.
When the bakkie stopped at the corner of Leigh avenue and Frames crescent in Glenhazel, two of the robbers with R5 assault rifles ran into a property on the corner.
The house is used as a place of safety for babies with HIV/Aids, amongst others.
The two men shot at the police helicopter from the property, while the third man robbed a worker of the place of safety, of her Hyundai Getz in the driveway.
The chopper pilot superintendent Jaco Botha said the helicopter was hit three times. His crewman inspector Clive Freitas returned fire and hit the robber sitting in the Hyundai.
The bullet went through the windscreen and hit his private parts.
Police officers closed in on the men and found various weapons in the glove compartment of the Hyundai and the bakkie. An R5 assault rifle was found on the pavement.
Netcare 911 treated the wounded men and took him to hospital under police guard.
Director Govindsamy Mariemuthoo, Gauteng police spokesperson, said the police had recovered four R5 assault rifles and two pistols. Four men were arrested, and they're expected to appear soon in Johannesburg Magistrate's Court.
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