Burglars kill man with own gun
2007-02-21 13:14
Durban - A 62-year old man was shot dead with his own gun in a struggle with burglars who broke into his Ladysmith home on Wednesday, police said.
Captain Charmaine Struwig said Bernard De Wet was woken by a noise in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Taking his gun, he came across two burglars in another part of the house.
A struggle ensued in which De Wet shot one of the men in the thigh.
However, the other burglar disarmed him and shot De Wet in the chest.
The robbers fled after assaulting De Wet's wife.
On the scene within minutes, the police's dog unit tracked the two men through a nearby veld to a hill where they were arrested and De Wet's firearm recovered. The wounded robber was taken to hospital.
De Wet's wife was treated on the scene for a cut to the head and shock.
Struwig said the robbers faced charges of murder, burglary, assault with the intent to do grievous bodily harm and possession of an unlicensed firearm.
- SAPA