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Wild shoot-out terrifies PE
21/02/2008 09:30 - (SA)
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| A shocked Mike Burger describes how he was hijacked by a gang of armed men who then robbed a cash van in Port Elizabeth. (Werner Hills, Die Burger) |
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Bobbi Scheckle, Die Burger
Port Elizabeth - About 13 armed robbers who shot a volley of bullets at a filling station in the city on Wednesday afternoon, are still at large.
The wild shoot-out started when robbers opened fire on a cash van at 12:15 at the Total filling station in Paterson Road, leaving bystanders terrified.
Flying squad commander Captain Rassie Erasmus said the 13 robbers fled with three money boxes. He could not confirm how much money was stolen.
Trevor Rautenbach, who works at Builders Trade Depot across the street, said he was standing at the entrance to the shop when he heard the shots. "I saw four men. One was armed with a 9mm pistol. The others had AK-47 rifles," he said.
Eyewitnesses said the robbers tried to stop the armoured vehicle before the driver could race away.
One of the robbers hijacked Mike Burger's Nissan bakkie and drove in front of the cash van.
'It was terrifying'
"I was driving when they started shooting. One of the robbers pointed his gun at me and told me to get out," said a shocked Burger.
"It seemed as if they were all wearing blue uniforms. I went to hide at Builders. It was terrifying."
Sipho Williams wanted to put petrol in his car when the shooting started. "I heard shots. I put my car in reverse and left in a hurry. White smoke hung in the air after the shooting," he said.
A person who wanted to remain anonymous also stopped at the filling station moments before the shooting started.
"I lay down flat. They shot out the back window of my car. When I looked up, one of the robbers told me to look away.
"They shouted 'get the money, get the money!'. I kept lying flat. I was fortunate not to be hit by the bullets," he said.
Nico Schultz from Gardmed, who was first to arrive at the scene, confirmed that nobody was hurt during the shooting. "Many people were in severe shock."
Monty Montgomery, operational manager of Atlas, said the robbers fled in a blue double-cab Colt.
"They raced away on the Uitenhage road and turned around at Sydenham Primary School. The police pursued them," said Montgomery.
By late on Wednesday nobody had been arrested.
- Die Burger
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