About 24 shots were fired in a shootout between Community Support Services (CSS) and robbers who targeted a home in Sycamore Street on 23 March.
Greg Pearce, CEO of CSS, confirmed an estimated four suspects broke through the front gate of the property. The domestic worker saw the suspects tampering with the gate while she was outside.
She then ran into the house to try and push the panic button and screamed for Jordan de Villiers, the daughter of the household, to come and help.
However, the suspects threatened the domestic worker by pointing a gun at her through the kitchen window so that she would not push the panic button.
Jordan, who had been studying in her room, heard the commotion and locked herself in her room. She hid under her bed so that nobody could see her and messaged her mother, Maggie.
Maggie explained that she had recently been on the phone with her daughter about her exams when she received a message from her about the break-in.
She was confused and thought she was talking about a robbery in the area.
Maggie phoned on the landline but when no one answered she called Jordan, who told her about the situation in a whisper.
Maggie then proceeded to contact CSS who arrived on the scene almost immediately. Jordan explained that she heard everything that happened.
The suspects continued going through the house, taking jewellery from the main bedroom and also documents, such as passports and IDs, from the safe.
When the landline phone rang, the suspects threatened the domestic worker again, thinking she had made contact with someone.
A suspect was making his way back to their silver Mercedes with the TV set when CSS arrived. A shootout ensued and the suspects left the TV and fled the scene.
They drove past a white vehicle with blue and red branding, similar to the CSS vehicles, and began to shoot at the car before turning around and speeding in the other direction. CSS gave chase but lost them on Beyers Naude Drive, heading towards the highway.
Nobody was injured in the incident, which occurred at 11.55am. It is unconfirmed whether any of the suspects sustained injuries.
Police took fingerprints and photographs of the bullet casings on the scene.
Pearce said the same silver Mercedes has been seen at three other robberies in the past week.
It was also seen at the scene of a house break-in in the same road before hitting the De Villiers household. The family was rattled by the incident and Jordan was concerned about studying for her two exams the following day.
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