A man sustained a minor injury when an unknown number of men shot at him in what is reported to be an attempted hijacking outside the Mercure Nelspruit Hotel on Sunday night, August 6.
The man, a Mozambican national, was grazed in the arm by a bullet during the incident. He was reportedly treated on the scene by ER24, and given the minor nature of the injury, he was not taken to hospital.
ER24 spokesperson Russel Meiring said the paramedics had arrived on the scene at 19:45 and found the man near the entrance of the hotel.
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“They assessed the man and found he had sustained a bullet graze to his one arm. The man was treated, but he declined transportation to a hospital,” he said.
A provincial police spokesperson, Captain Magonseni Nkosi, said a case of attempted murder was opened. “According to reports, the man was returning to the hotel after having gone out for dinner. A car was following him, and the occupants flashed the headlights at him. The man accelerated, and the suspects shot at him.
A bullet hit one of the vehicle’s windows. The motive for the shooting is unknown, and the matter is under investigation,” he said.
Nkosi said the police did not have any reports of the man having sustained a graze injury to his arm, however.
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A director of Taysec Security, Roger Taylor, said the company’s control room had received a call about the shooting at 18:55. He said the information received indicated an unknown number of suspects had been travelling in a white Toyota Corolla.
Mercure Hotel’s Pierre Meintjies confirmed that an incident had occurred outside the entrance. He said he preferred not to comment, as the incident is an active police investigation.
Meanwhile, at about the same time, another shooting incident took place in Kelkiewyn Street in West Acres.
Hi-Tech’s Frank Swanepoel, who lives in the street, said it was just before 19:00 on Sunday that he had heard about six gunshots. He said it was unclear what had occurred, but that no one was injured.
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He said other people in the street had exited their homes, some carrying torches, to investigate the gunshots. He advised them against doing this in the future, as they could potentially be caught in the crossfire, or could be targeted themselves.
“If you hear gunshots, stay inside, lock your doors and call the police and your local security companies. If you leave your home, you disable your alarm, and criminals could possibly use this as an opportunity to enter and steal from you.”
