Fundraiser for woman shot in car in Elandsvlei

The community of Randfontein is joining hands to raise funds for Irish Hattingh, the woman who was shot in her car after visiting an auction facility in Elandsvlei this past weekend. The funds will go towards Hattingh’s medical bills.

Hattingh’s 12-year-old son was with her in the car at the time of the shooting but escaped unharmed.

• Also read: Woman shot in car after auction visit

Randfontein Police spokesperson Sergeant Carmen Hendricks confirmed they are investigating a case of armed robbery and attempted murder after Hattingh was shot in her car as she was travelling from an auction on Saturday afternoon, December 3. The incident occurred at the crossing of Tarlton and Ventersdorp roads in Elandsvlei at about 17:00.

“Police received information regarding an incident of armed robbery and attempted murder at the location in question. It was alleged the woman came from an auction and as she got to the crossing, shots were fired towards her. This is when her vehicle came to a stop and suspects approached her vehicle. They then proceeded to take her handbag, a laptop and then fled the scene,” said Sergeant Hendricks.

Chairperson of the Stock Theft Information Center (STIC) in Randfontein as well as the Chairperson for Rural Safety Community in Randfontein, JP de Beer said the funds will be raised through the BackaBuddy platform.

LINK: https://www.backabuddy.co.za/champion/project/iris-hatting-5459898617805353709

“Irish was ambushed on the day and a high calibre automatic firearm was used in the assault. She really suffered extensive injuries and a lot of work needs to be done on her legs which includes surgeries. As a short-term goal, the family needs at least R600 000 in donations for the surgeries and her hospital stay. These costs are expected to go up as the days progress,” De Beer said.

He further went on to describe the actual injuries that Hattingh suffered during the brazen attack.

“The damage to her body itself is massive. Both her legs have been severely affected by this. The bullets hit her leg and shattered her femur completely so her right leg was completely shot off. There were chunks of meat that was blown out as a result of this attack and looking at the injuries, we can estimate that nine to ten bullets went through it,” said de Beer who added that her left knee was also shot up.

De Beer added that the Hattingh family, her husband Thys Hattingh and their 15-year-old son will need all the help they can get to assist in Irish’ recovery.

“We need to take care of her expenses, she will need a wheelchair and ramps also needs to be built, she has a long way of recovery ahead which will cost a lot of money as well. They don’t have a medical aid so we started the Backabuddy campaign to help them cover expenses, which can go up to R1.5 million in the long term. If one of our members are attacked, we will all respond and help where we can,” said De Beer who added that the family is a member of the STIC community.

To offer a helping hand, residents and businesses alike can send through their donations to MG Hattingh’s Capitec account which is 1853583306.

So far, R60 000 has been raised to assist Hattingh.