Reddy said he was watching TV when his cellphone lit up with a series of Facebook messages from his brother Niall who is currently studying in Paris.
“Something seemed rather urgent about the messages,” said Reddy. “When I read them, Niall said that he had been on Skype talking to my mum when he noticed something very fishy happening, it looked like our parents were being robbed.”
Reddy added that his brother continued to send frantic messages and posting status updates, asking family and friends in Joburg to call the police as he felt helpless knowing that his parents were being attacked and he was too far away to do anything about it.
Reddy’s parents, Tessa and Govin Reddy, were being held up by two armed men who were demanding to know where the safe was.
He said while he was looking for his car keys, he had phoned 10111 and had trouble getting through at first. When he did get through, the line was very bad and the call was eventually cut, so he wasn’t sure if they had heard his pleas.
“I’m sure a few of Niall’s friends had phoned them,” he continued.
Click here to read: Skype helps save parents during robbery
Reddy then rushed over to his parents’ home with his flatmate, Luke Spiropoulos. In the meantime, Spiropoulos looked up the number for the private security company that his parents had hired and phoned them. Guards of the company met Reddy at the entrance to his parents’ home and the commotion must have caused the suspects to flee, unfortunately with an undisclosed amount of cash and electrical goods.
“It was clear something was wrong,” said Reddy.
“Most of the lights were out. I was asking the guards to break down the door between the garage and the house when I heard my mother’s voice on the other side. She unlocked it for us.”
Reddy was relieved to find his parents unharmed and wanted to extend his gratitude to everyone who helped that night.
Warrant Officer Lorraine van Emerik, spokesperson for Joburg Central Policing cluster, was able to confirm that a case of armed robbery was currently being investigated, but could not say whether any arrests had been made.
Details: Brixton police 011 248 5500.
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