Butchery owner shot, robbed in Newlands

A store owner was shot by five suspects on Tuesday evening, reports Northcliff Melville Times. John da Silva, a manager at Manny’s Meat Market, has since confirmed the incident.

According to Captain TJ de Bruyn from Sophiatown Police Station, four suspects waited for the owner outside the home of one of his workers.

ALSO READ: Butchery robbery victim recovering well after being shot at point-blank range

“When they arrived, the suspects fired five shots at the victim, injuring him in his stomach. The suspects took the victim’s car keys and fled the scene in a white Toyota Corolla with an unknown registration.”

De Bruyn further confirmed that the victim was taken to hospital, where he is recovering, and that a case of attempted murder has been opened at the station.

Da Silva said the owner is in a critical but stable condition following the incident.

He confirmed that paramedics arrived on the scene promptly, but said that police took longer than was acceptable, arriving 30 minutes after they had been contacted.

This is not the first time that the meat market has been targeted. In April last year, a woman was shot twice in the head at point-blank range during an armed robbery. About six men entered the butchery, demanding cash from the store’s safe. Da Silva said the most recent incident is worryingly similar.

“It has us worried, because the suspects seem to shoot first, before asking for anything. [On Tuesday] night, the owner was shot while closing the back of his van, before they even spoke to him,” said da Silva.

The incident occurred while the owner of the store was dropping another employee off at his home, and not at the store itself.

In the incident last year, Riette van der Merwe, a supervisor at the time, put up a fight and was shot twice. Luckily, she recovered well from her extensive injuries.

Anyone with any information that can assist the police with the investigation is urged to please contact Sophiatown Police Station on 011 670 6300.

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