“Angels were looking after me,” says Hillcrest shootout victim
The 64-year-old Forest Hills resident was caught in the midst of the fire-fight during an attempted cash-in-transit heist.
FOREST Hills resident, Linda Venton, was left shaken after she found herself in the midst of a shootout at the Hillcrest Corner shopping centre on Friday – two days before Christmas celebrations.
One of the armed suspects was injured, while a second remains at large. It is believed that the suspects and security guards exchanged fire during the attempted cash-in-transit heist near the centre’s banking hall.
The 64-year-old told the Highway Mail that she heard the gunshots shortly after she withdrew cash from one of the ATMs.
“I was standing at the Wimpy counter… There was mad running around. We ended up on the floor in the kitchen passage area and waited it out,” she said.
“Freaking crazy world we live in. Angels were looking after me,” added Venton, who is the craft co-ordinator at the NPO, Embocraft Training Centre Trust in Botha’s Hill.
While no other injuries were reported, Venton said many were left traumatised.
“I was actually calming down a mother and child as well as a man who had lost his mother a year ago in a shooting incident. He was terribly traumatised,” she said.
The worst part of the incident, she said, was the unknown. “Not knowing what is going on around you at the time – that’s what’s scary.”
Hillcrest Corner centre management confirmed the incident on its Facebook page on Friday aftrenoon, saying “One of the robbers was injured in the incident. SAPS are currently on site and are investigating the incident.”
