JOHANNESBURG SOUTH – “We arrived at the school at 13:00, a little early as our son was only due out at 13:10. We parked opposite the school on the veld to wait for him, along with quite a few other parents who were also picking up their children. It was hot so we sat inside our vehicle with the windows open,” said the couple.
“A few minutes later a Nissan X-Trail (gold in colour) pulled up right in front of our vehicle and three men wearing balaclavas proceeded to get out and walk towards our vehicle. Two had pistols and the other a rifle,” they added.
They made the husband get out and pushed him to the ground, making him lie with his arms outstretched and then one of the robbers put his foot on his back to stop him from getting up and put his gun to the man’s head.
“I stayed in the car and one of the robbers pulled my hand and put a gun to my head. They removed all jewellery, as well as our cellphones. They also took my handbag, which contained various items, including my purse with bank cards, driver’s licence and ID,” said the woman.
The robbers then took the car keys but the security guard who was stood at the school’s entrance began screaming at them and the three got in the Nissan and sped off.
“It all happened in a minute and we just did as we were told for fear of getting shot,” they said.
The other parents who were waiting for their children came running to help the couple and the principal and school staff also came to assist the traumatised couple. “The principal and staff were very supportive and took us to the staff room.”
The couple feel that parents should be on alert as this could possibly be a new trend and urge all schools to have more visible security at drop off and collection times. “They do have a school guard at the entrance but in a situation such as this there was absolutely nothing he could do. We actually thought he was extremely brave as he ran towards us and the robbers screaming.”
A case of robbery has been opened at Moffatview Police Station.
* The headmaster of the school has indicated that it is actively exploring the installation of suitable video equipment to monitor the public roads in the school’s entrance areas in order to complement the existing twenty-four hour (armed response) security system.
