Women fight for their lives during attempted Brits farm attack
Three women defied the odds on Monday evening, fighting off three attackers off their farm outside Brits.
Grietjie van Vuuren (81) and her granddaughter Suretha (29).
Hannelie Jacobs (59), her daughter, Suretha (29) and Hannelie’s 81-year-old mother, Grietjie van Vuuren, stood their ground and succeeded in keeping attackers at a distance until help arrived during an attempted farm attack, Kormorant reports.
The three women and four children, among others a 6-day-old baby, were alone on their farm in Krokodildrift-Wes when three attackers threw stones at windows and doors to damage the burglar bars.
READ MORE: Farm attack in Marble Hall, Mpumalanga
“I was in the room with one of the children when the window behind me shattered. I told the child to run to his mother. There were three men, and the next moment, windows all around the house broke and large stones were being thrown at us,” explained Hannelie.
“The intruders forced the door and safety door with a pickaxe and came into the house. They threw the pickaxe at Suretha and my mother. My daughter said that I should lock the children in the bathroom. I grabbed the kids and ran. Suretha managed to grab the pickaxe and ran towards the intruders. They exited the house, but came back in. My mom then sprayed the intruders with pepper spray, and Suretha continued to threaten them with the pickaxe.”
Hannelie pressed the panic button, and the women managed to keep the intruders at bay until Monitor Net security arrived.
“Help arrived within 5 minutes, but it felt like hours had passed.”
The intruders were startled by security personnel, and shots were fired. The intruders then fled the scene on foot.
According to Hannelie, one of the attackers was dressed in white, and two wore blue overalls with reflective stripes.
Members of the Brits community policing forum Sector One were on the scene shortly after Monitor Net.
No one was injured in the attack.
“If it wasn’t for Suretha, we would all probably be dead. She gave birth six days ago, but fought for all of us.”
This is not the first time that the brave women have had to fight off farm attacks. The family was targeted a few years ago.
“On that night, we did not hear the intruders enter the house, and my father was confronted in his bedroom. Suretha chased them away with a knife.”
Brits SAPS are currently investigating the incident. No arrests have been made.
This article was translated from Afrikaans. Read the original article here.
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