Crime dampens holiday cheer

One such incident was a house robbery in Brakpan North, during which a pensioner was shot in the stomach.

The incident took place at an address along McKenzie Street on December 22.

The 67-year-old man was awakened by his security alarm just after 4am and went to investigate.

Two robbers, who were described as very aggressive, overpowered the resident and shot him with a 9mm pistol.

The pair then went to the man’s bedroom, where they found his wife.

They demanded cash, jewellery, cellphones and firearms from the woman.

After ransacking the house, the men fled with four cellphones and a television set.

The injured resident was airlifted to the Union Hospital in Alberton.

According to police reports, the couple’s grandson (age unknown) was in the house during the incident and hid under a bed.

Another house robbery took place later that evening at an address along Kipling Crescent, in Dalpark.

Three armed robbers confronted a family of three in their home at about 8.40pm.

The robbers instructed the family to lie on the floor and searched the house.

They fled with a wallet, a television set, a games console and jewellery.

The robbers made their getaway in a white Audi A4.

On December 23, a security guard on duty at a business along Denne Road, Witpoort Estates, was held up by two armed men.

The robbers surprised the man in the guardroom just after midnight.

The guard was robbed of his cellphone, passport, cash and a remote for the company’s gate, before he was tied up with a cellphone charger.

The robbers were then joined by another four men, who were also armed.

These men had rounded up two other company employees (truck drivers) on the premises.

They, too, were robbed of personal belongings and tied up.

The six robbers fled when a truck arrived at the property.

The guard later heard the truck leaving and it is not known whether the truck was hijacked and the driver was taken.

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