Durban, South Africa – One man shot dead. His partner beaten up. And all for a laptop. This was the outcome of a robbery in a north Durban suburb on Saturday night.
Stephen John Edmondstone, 62, died in the Collard Road, Umgeni Park, home he shared with Alvin Meyer, in his late fifties, soon after being attacked by two men at 6.30pm on Saturday.
Umgeni Park neighbourhood watch chairman Brian Daish said the intruders had entered through a bathroom window.
They assaulted Meyer and when Edmondstone heard the commotion from another room and went to see what was going on he was shot three times.
“The only thing taken was one laptop. They had a getaway car waiting and fled,” said Daish. “I was alerted by a member of the community. Marshall Security and the police were already in attendance when we got there at about 7pm.”
A source said a gun was recovered from the swimming pool.
Edmondstone’s family was too traumatised to talk.
Meyer looked visibly shaken and had a plaster on the right side of his forehead.
Durban North councillor Shaun Ryley sent condolences
and said the “scourge of violence” was a serious concern.
“This incident has taken place in an area under the jurisdiction of a police station (Greenwood Park) that is grappling with a crisis that can be seen in police stations across the country.”
He said the diminishing staff and the lack of roadworthy police vehicles severely hampered the efforts of the remaining personnel at the police station.
“The availability of resources to police stations such as Greenwood Park needs to be expedited as the current standard places the security of the public in extreme jeopardy.”…
South Africa Today – South Africa News
