A CHATSWORTH security officer is in ICU after being shot three times while pursuing armed robbers involved in a deadly cash-in-transit heist, which left one woman dead and several others injured.
The robbers had bombed a Fidelity ADT van on the N2, near the NPC cement factory on Tuesday morning.
Steffen Govender, 44, a tactical officer for Prosecure, was stationed at the Mobeni Heights off-ramp, Chatsworth, when the suspects who were making their getaway, shot at him.
He sustained a gunshot wound to his right hand which resulted in two of his fingers being shattered.
The suspects were travelling in a white Mercedes Benz and were shooting their way out of the area from the sunroof of the vehicle.
Despite being shot, Govender bravely chased after the suspects to Silverglen Drive.
During this time he sustained two more gunshot wounds to his neck.
Two women who were walking to work at the time, on Silverglen Drive, were also shot. One of them survived, while the other was declared dead on the scene by paramedics.
Govender’s wife, who did not want to be named, said she was grateful that her husband was still alive.
“He is currently in the Intensive Care Unit. But he is stable. We are waiting for the doctors to give us feedback on his condition, and what treatment will follow,” she said.
Minutes before Govender caught up with the suspects on Silverglen Drive and was shot, they had hijacked a Montford couple, in an attempt to change vehicles to get away.
Mervin Luke, 57, said he and his wife were on their way to work, travelling along Silverglen Drive, when a white Mercedes stopped in front of them.
“Three men in balaclavas, armed with high calibre weapons and wearing bulletproof vests, jumped out of the vehicle. They demanded that we get out of our vehicle. My wife and I adhered to their demands and jumped off. We ran away from them. The driver of a vehicle that was coming towards me saw what had happened. He stopped and picked us up. We drove to a nearby garage, and could hear the gunfire.
“At that time, I believe there was a shootout between the suspects and security officers. We did not know that the suspects were linked to the heist at the time. We thought it was just them hijacking us. But I think they needed a different vehicle to get away so they attempted to hijack us. But due to the gunfight, they could not get into our vehicle. They fled in their own vehicle and abandoned ours.
“About ten minutes later, I got to the scene in Silverglen Drive, and found my vehicle still there. There were bullet shells everywhere. It was sad to see that two women and a security officer had been shot,” he added.
Luke said he always travelled on Silverglen Drive to go to work.
He said his prayers had saved him and his wife that morning.
“My vehicle was not damaged. When I got to my car, it was still idling. Even though there were bullet shells inside and all around my car, it had no bullet holes. The suspects did not even take anything. I’m not lucky, but I pray to a good Lord. I pray every day. It's important to pray before you leave home. In life we have to be prepared for these things, as we live in dangerous times,” he said.
Robert Netshiunda, spokesperson for KZN police, said an unknown number of suspects accosted the CIT vehicle, assaulted two security guards and robbed them of their firearms before stealing an undisclosed amount of money on the N2.
“During the robbery, the suspects fired several shots and three bystanders were reportedly shot and injured. The suspects fled the scene through the Bayview area,” Netshiunda added.
He said police were on the lookout for the suspects.
ALS paramedics spokesperson, Garrith Jamieson, said they treated three security officers on the scene at the N2, and about 500 metres away from the CIT heist, three occupants of a bus who were travelling to work sustained multiple gunshot wounds.
“On the M1 Higginson Highway near the N2 Bridge, two people sustained gunshot wounds. At Silverglen Drive, paramedics found that multiple people had been shot,” he said.