THREE robbers, wielding AK47s, attacked Shell Garage in Ext 11A, Bangalore Drive on June 24 at 8.45pm.
Two of the robbers hijacked two vehicles at the garage, while the third robber stormed into the store.
Video footage shows a robber approach a green BMW and pull the driver out of the vehicle. According to the driver, Glen Williams, “I did not fill up petrol and the guy just came towards me and pulled me out of my car while he pointed the gun at me.” The robber then jumped into the vehicle and sped off.
At the same time, a second robber moves towards a VW Polo which is being filled with petrol. Noticing the suspect approach the vehicle with an AK47, the driver speeds off. The robber shoots at the fleeing vehicle.
A third car, also a VW Polo, is then targeted. The occupants are made to lie on the floor. Terrified Afsana Khan, said, “They made us lie on the floor and one the suspects came back to me, took my handbag and said, “I will kill you, you b***ch!’”
In the meanwhile, the third robber had entered the store. Mickey Padiachee, from the ANC Lenasia branch, was one of the customers present at the time. The robber, wearing a balaclava, points at him with an AK47. “I went backwards while the suspect kept saying that he will kill us. He demanded money from me as if I was the owner,” Padiachee said. The robber then gives Padiachee a blue bag asking him to give it to the cashier. The suspect is then seen entering the cashier’s office, grabbing both the bag filled with money, and the till, before jumping into the VW Polo and fleeing.
Mickey Padiachee is approached by one of the robbers, while another customer lifts in hands behind him.
According to the owners, this is the third time that their garage has been robbed. Sector 2 Community Policing Forum Chairperson Deva Lutchman, who was on scene, said he was disgusted by what had happened and thanked the police and the community for their assistance.
Lenasia SAPS spokesperson, Captain Hector Netshivhodza did not want to comment, adding that they are investigating the incident.
Article and picture courtesy of looklocal
