AN Umgeni Park restaurateur said he will not be deterred by the acts of criminality and ‘cowardly attacks’ after an armed gang robbed his establishment, and shot and injured three patrons on Thursday last week.
Andrea Indrio, who owns Andrea’s Italian Café on Browns Drift Road, said he has been blown away by the support shown by the community around him following the violent armed robbery.
CCTV footage of the robbery, which occurred just after 19:00 last week, has gone viral on social media and shows a gang of four suspects run into the store and pull out handguns.
One of the suspects then points their firearm in the direction of a six-year-old girl seated at a table with her family.
A scuffle then breaks out, and in the ensuing struggle, three people are shot, sustaining multiple gunshot wounds.
Related story: Three shot in armed robbery at Umgeni Park restaurant
“I was sitting at one of the tables, and the gang had already passed me when they pulled out their weapons. I heard the cocking of the gun, and I immediately ran out of the store to seek help from the Chinese restaurant across from us,” Indrio explained. “One of the suspects, who had a knife, actually chased after me. As I approached the other restaurant, one of the other suspects, seated in the getaway vehicle, actually opened the passenger door and struck me with it to stop me from alerting anyone else.
“I recovered and managed to get into the other restaurant and barricade myself inside while we called for help. That is when I heard the gunshots; of course, I feared the worst as my friends and family were still inside. Three people were seriously injured, and the suspects tried to open the cash register but were unsuccessful. They grabbed handbags, cellphones and takeaway pizza bags which they mistook for laptops,” he said.
Emergency services from Netcare 911 and Emer-G-Med paramedics treated the wounded on scene and transported them to nearby hospitals.
“The reason I call the men cowards is that they shot at unarmed civilians who were just trying to have a meal in a restaurant. They pointed a firearm in the face of a little girl, which was uncalled for,” he said.
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Indrio also thanked the first responders and all those who have reached out to offer their support in the last few days.
“As a family restaurant, we are so touched by the overwhelming amount of support from the community. So many people said they won’t stop supporting us after what happened. What happened was extremely traumatic and scary, but we won’t be intimidated. We need to set up more deterrents to stop anything like this from happening again, and the centre management has been amazing.
“I would like to see justice served and for those responsible to be arrested. A few of my staff have been receiving counselling from the Independent Crisis Team (ICT) dealing with the trauma, but if I could turn the negative of what happened into a positive, it would be to encourage others to stand up against acts of criminality. We need to protect each other, and I’m grateful to all the first responders and the Umgeni Park CPF who have all assured me we are in this fight together to prevent any further attacks or robberies,” he said.
While two of the those injured are recovering, a third victim is still in a serious condition.
A case of attempted murder and business robbery has been opened at the Greenwood Park SAPS.
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