FORMER Sarnia resident and farmer Mark Fagan was shot dead by gunmen while defending his family and guests, most of whom were teenage girls, at his farm near Philadelphia in the Western Cape on Friday, 13 October.
Mark was shot dead when he approached five men wearing balaclavas who had entered his family’s house where they were having a birthday party.
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Mark’s mother-in-law Colleen Philip said her grand-daughter, Jamie (14) had seven friends over for a party when five armed men came into the braai room, threatening them with guns and demanding cell phones.
“They got one cell phone and tore a necklace off someone’s neck. Jamie bravely threw her body over that of her friend and a shot was fired, thankfully only shattering the glass she held in her hand,” she said.
According to the grandmother, two girls escaped back into the house and that alerted Jamie’s father Mark who leapt out of bed and came roaring out like a lion.
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“He actually managed to drive all five burglars out of the house just by his righteous anger but as they went out, one of them turned and shot him dead through his heart. They then fled.
“Meanwhile, Joanne our daughter and Mark’s wife, was rushing to the safe to unlock it and retrieve her gun but she reached them too late and Mark had been shot. He was a hero. It could have been a massacre,” said Colleen.
The Highway Mail team sends our condolences to Mark Fagan’s family and friends.
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