Blue Security has warned motorists to be vigilant following several hijackings – one of them fatal when a private taxi driver was shot and killed – across the city since Friday evening.
Blue Security community and media liaison officer Andreas Mathios said at least five hijacking and attempted hijacking incidents had been reported to the company over the past six days, and in one of the more recent incidents hijackers shot dead a motorist in Newlands East on Tuesday night.
Hijackings have also been reported in Kingsburgh, Sherwood, Umbilo and Glenwood.
Mathios said that in the latest incident, a gang of armed robbers forced their way into a business premises in Sherwood before hijacking a motorist of his vehicle at around 5.50am this morning. “Four armed suspects ran onto the business premises moments after a security officer opened the boom gates to let a tenant drive onto the property. They held up the security guards in the guardroom at gunpoint and robbed them of their cellphones and remote panic buttons,” he said.
“The suspects then drove their vehicle, a white Toyota Corolla, onto the premises and proceeded to an office where they attempted to force their way inside, but they turned and fled when they realised a staff member was inside the office. The fleeing suspects then held up a motorist who had just arrived at the property to drop a staff member off at the premises. The driver and his colleague had just stepped out of his vehicle to smoke a cigarette when the suspects rushed at them, robbed them of their personal belongings and hijacked the vehicle. No injuries were reported,” Mathios said.
In Kingsburgh a gang of hijackers held up a resident who had just stopped in his driveway to drive onto his property at around 7.05pm last night. “Four armed suspects held the resident up at gunpoint and hijacked his vehicle. No injuries were reported.”
Mathios said a motorist, a private taxi driver, was shot and killed during a hijacking at a garage in Newlands East just before midnight on Tuesday night, when he attempted to protect his girlfriend from hijackers after they forced her out of the vehicle. “Two shots were fired, injuring him in his upper body. Paramedics declared him dead at the scene. The vehicle was later recovered, where it had been abandoned about one kilometre from the crime scene. The suspects remain at large. Greenwood Park SAPS are investigating the case,” he said.
In a separate incident, a Glenwood resident managed to fight off two armed suspects who attempted to hijack him on his property just after he drove into the garage at around 7.45pm on Tuesday night. “Two armed suspects followed the resident into his garage and attempted to pull him out of his vehicle but the motorist managed to fight the suspects off. The suspects then ran out of the garage to an awaiting getaway vehicle – a white Toyota Corolla – where a further two suspects were waiting for them. No injuries were reported,” Mathios said.
Umbilo SAPS attended the scene of the crime.
Mathios added that a motorist was hijacked of his vehicle in Umbilo on Friday night, just after he had returned home from the shops at about 6.30pm. “Two armed suspects held up the motorist at gunpoint and hijacked him of his vehicle,” he said.
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