Response officer injured in Rocky Drift filling station robbery
Beki Baloi was responding to alarms in the area when five armed suspects ran towards the filling station, firing shots as they went.
At 01:15 on Friday, February 24, Techno Security response officer Beki Baloi found himself in the middle of a scene that looked like it had come straight out of an action movie.
While responding to alarms in the area, Baloi parked his patrol vehicle outside a Sasol filling station when five armed suspects started running towards the garage’s shop, firing shots as they ran. At the time, there were three people inside; one civilian and two personnel. The civilian was shot in the leg.
“As soon as I saw them, I knew I had to try and stop them; I had to try and defend myself and the garage,” Baloi said. But just as his thoughts registered, the suspects noticed his vehicle and shifted their focus on him.
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According to Techno Security’s marketing manager, Jaco Coetzee, they fired two shots at Baloi through the windshield of his vehicle, one of them wounding him in his stomach. “Luckily, his bulletproof jacket prevented penetration,” Coetzee said.
At the same time the shooting occurred, the suspects bombed the drop safe in the garage shop in an attempt to get to the cash inside. After fleeing the shop, they proceeded to pull Baloi out of his vehicle by his vest and used it as a getaway car.
Coetzee said their control room continued to track it and managed to recover it about 30km from where it had been stolen at the filling station. The vehicle was, however, deserted.
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The forensic department of the Nelspruit SAPS arrived at Techno Security’s premises at 13:15 to search for fingerprints, DNA or any other piece of information that could lead to the possible arrest of the suspects.
According to White River SAPS’s spokesperson, Constable Funeka Mathebula, no arrests have been made yet and the investigation is ongoing.
The stolen vehicle’s dashboard camera also came under fire. Techno Security’s IT team is currently trying to retrieve any possible video footage that can assist with the investigation.
Both Baloi and the civilian injured during the shooting have been discharged from hospital, and are recovering.
