We won’t stop until criminals realise this is not a safe space for them
Brave SCP Security officer engages in gun fight with heavily armed criminals shooting one in the chest in Montgomery Park.
The normally quiet suburb of Montgomery Park became the scene of a shootout as brave SCP Security officer Piet Similane faced off with would-be home invaders.
“This is my job and I know what I might deal with every day when I put on this uniform.”
Similane was patrolling the area when he noticed the gate at the home of an elderly couple was open on James Hyde Place.
Owner of SCP Security Clive Maher said, “Our officers know the areas they work in well. They know the comings and goings of residents, what cars they drive and general movements so when something is wrong, they have a sense of it.
“It was at 11:30 and the gate was open with a white CTI vehicle in the driveway and four males hanging around. Piet immediately felt something suspicious was happening. He parked the car and went to investigate.” The suspects had lifted the gate off its rails with a crowbar.
Similane approached the house when three shots were fired at him. He returned fire with two rounds and ‘all hell broke loose’.
The vehicle reversed out of the driveway and sped away. Similane immediately followed. “The suspects attempted to pick up one of the two guys who fled into neighbouring properties on Hugo Naude Street.”
They shot at Similane again when he returned fire, hitting one of the suspects in the chest. “He died as a result.”
One suspect was arrested by a substation with a third pursued on foot into the vlei grassland. “We called in a police helicopter to assist with searching for him. Despite two shots being fired at the chopper from the vlei, locating him was unsuccessful.
“However, we subsequently tracked them back to Linden that same morning where they were attempting a house robbery but got scared off for some reason, so they abandoned that.”
Maher said they are part of a well-known gang that operates from Dobsonville. They specialise in house robberies and home invasions. “This is a major success both in terms of a dent in their little crew and for interfering with their intentions that day.”
He added that the support from the Montgomery Park patrollers, police, JMPD and Highway Patrol was amazing. “All units came together and worked as one with a single mission. Despite this, two suspects got away in the white GTI, but that does not detract from the collective efforts of everyone involved.
“This continues to send a message to criminals that we will protect our suburbs and neighbourhoods until they realise this is not a safe place to conduct unlawful acts. People who want to harm our elderly, children or families are not safe here.”
Spokesperson for JMPD, Superintendent Xolani Fihla said, “Public Safety has many different facets, and our common goal is to ensure the safety of residents and all those who visit the City of Johannesburg. Such collaborative efforts prove that effective and efficient teamwork can fight and ultimately defeat the scourge of crime.”
Police spokesperson Captain Jeff Phora had not responded to enquiries at the time of going to press.
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