One of two house robbers was shot and killed by a local security company after they broke into a property and assaulted its caretaker.
The shooting took place on 15 August on 2nd Avenue in Melville. Fidelity ADT responded to an alarm activation from the commercial property.
The incident was confirmed by Jeanette Backhoff, spokesperson of the Brixton Police Station. Backhoff said some of the stolen property was recovered and an inquest was launched into the matter.
According to Cathy Findley, public relations officer at Fidelity ADT, one of the security company’s reaction officers were dispatched to the property where the alarm was activated, where he met with the caretaker of the property.
The caretaker reported that two men had gained access to the premises, assaulted him and took various goods. The officer then called for back-up and around the same time the other reaction officer arrived, so did a Brixton police vehicle.
Both reaction and police officers then searched the premises in hopes of locating the two suspects. Later, the officers found the robbers had climbed over the fence into a neighbouring property and had dropped electronics they had taken as they fled. Because the robbers and officers had moved from the initial property to two other neighbouring properties, another security service provider arrived on the scene also responding to an alarm activation.
At that point, the two robbers were surrounded. With nowhere to go, the suspects ventured back to the initial property they robbed and tried to assault the caretaker again.
A Fidelity ADT officer got wind of this and fired his weapon, causing the suspects to flee. However, the bullet hit one of the robbers. Even while shot, the injured robber attempted to jump a boundary wall while the other made a dash for the main gate.
Both robbers were apprehended, however, the injured was later declared dead by paramedics when they arrived on the scene.
“This was a highly charged situation and the loss of life is unfortunate, although we are exceptionally proud of the way our reaction officers handled the situation,” said Stephen Botha, Fidelity ADT regional armed response manager.
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