Girl saves her mom in Gateway mugging
'My daughter thought he was strangling me.'
DURBAN North resident, Shivaika Sewlal (18) rushed to her mother’s rescue when two thieves, one wielding a knife, approached them in a parking lot at Gateway on Saturday, 1 June at about 5pm.
“I didn’t feel scared until I saw the knife. It was more instinctive, I just wanted to protect my mom. It was only when I saw the knife that I screamed,” said Shivaika. Mother, Desi said one of the thieves had grabbed the chain she was wearing around her neck when she was walking to her car.
“My daughter thought he was strangling me. It happened so quickly. She came from the other side and grabbed him while he was pushing me. That’s when he dropped the knife and she got a real fright,” she said. Desi praised her daughter for being her guardian angel and saving the day.
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“I think the men were so shocked that she defended me. She lost her balance and fell on the floor while she was defending me and they just grabbed the knife and chain and ran off,” she said.
The men were well dressed and approached the mother and daughter in a friendly manner at first.
“He tried to talk to me and that’s when I got suspicious. I said I didn’t want to talk to anyone and tried to get in the car and that’s when he pushed me and grabbed my neck chain.
Instead of screaming, I froze,” added Desi. Captain Raymond Deokaran, spokesperson for the Durban North SAPS confirmed that a case of theft was opened at Durban North SAPS.
“The complainant said two men approached her as she was putting her groceries away,” said Deokaran.
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“Thieves are becoming brazen, there have been a few cases at malls recently, but this is the first incident in a parking lot. It is getting dark earlier and criminals are using this as a cover, particularly if they see someone walking alone, especially women and especially in the vicinity of malls or shopping centres. We urge people to walk in groups and to be very wary of their surroundings.
“If you notice anything suspicious, rather approach a security guard and ask them to walk you to your car. They are usually very obliging. ”
“We are working closely with security teams at different shopping centres,” he added. ” Gateway was not available for comment at the time of publication.
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