Update: Shots fired in attempted hijacking
The three men reported seeing a blue police light on the dashboard.
A PORT Shepstone businessman and his employees were lucky to escape uninjured after gunmen opened fire on them.
The trio was travelling from Bizana, Eastern Cape to Port Shepstone on Monday this week when a gang of armed men opened fire, forcing them to stop on the R61 toll road near Margate.
“We travel to and from Bizana from Monday to Friday,” said the businessman. “On Monday this week at about 6pm, while passing the Port Edward traffic lights, we spotted a white BMW. This vehicle overtook us and drove slowly, so we overtook it and noticed it was following us closely and that a blue police light had been switched on in the same vehicle. The gunmen came to the driver’s side, telling us to pull over. They were armed and were definitely not police,” he said.
The driver of the bakkie sped off and a shot was fired hitting the driver’s door. The gang then made a U-turn on the toll road before the Margate off-ramp and sped towards Ramsgate. “The whole ordeal lasted about a minute and we were extremely lucky that the bullet did not hit one of us,” said the businessman.
He added that there had been two other separate incidents where businessmen travelling from Bizana towards Port Shepstone had been targeted. He advised motorists not to stop on the toll road.
“If you have passengers, a call must be made to the police immediately. At that moment we didn’t think of it and focused on getting away from the gunmen,” he said.
Police spokesman Captain Gerald Mfeka said Margate detectives are investigating an attempted murder case. No arrests have been made.
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