A Pretoria family stared death in the face on Friday night as police allegedly opened fire on them‚ leaving two people injured and their car riddled with bullet holes.
Joseph Ngobeni, 58, relayed how he leapt to use his body to shield his 16-year-old granddaughter as bullets pierced the car and seats‚ hitting the teenager‚ Kutlwano‚ in the left shoulder.
The teenager was rushed to George Mukhari hospital in Ga-rankuwa. Four of the bullets that struck the car grazed Ngobeni's right arm.
“They clearly wanted to kill us...I was scared for my life‚” he said.
Ngobeni said their horror began on Friday around 7pm as they were driving along Buitekant road in Soshanguve when a bakkie tried to push them off the road. Ngobeni said the bakkie did not have clear police markings.
Frightened‚ the driver‚ Ngobeni's 33-year-old son‚ Sidwell‚ managed to get away.
He said the bakkie then switched on police blue lights and gave chase‚ with people inside allegedly opening fire on the family SUV.
“They continued shooting for about five kilometres until we got to our driveway. It was only when my eldest daughter came out of the house screaming for them to stop that they stopped firing‚” Ngobeni said.
He said by the time they arrived in his driveway‚ there were more police officers firing at their car.
The shattered rear window and drying blood smears on the back seat and door handles bear testimony to how close to death the family was‚ with bullets having pierced the seats‚ missing them by inches.
When TimesLIVE visited Ngobeni‚ four bullet holes were visible on the passenger (left) side of the car's front windshield. Another six bullet holes were visible on the back of the vehicle. Ngobeni estimated that 20 bullets were fired at the vehicle.
According to Ngobeni‚ when police realised they had made a mistake‚ they simply drove off without assisting the injured.
“They claimed to have received satellite tracking information that the car was hijacked. But we posed no danger to them. Why did they try kill us?” he asked.
Soshanguve police station spokesperson Constable Zanele Mtsweni said two police officers were being investigated for attempted murder in connection with the incident.
“The two said they were chasing a suspected stolen vehicle and they shot at the (Ngobeni) vehicle. Unfortunately the family was inside the vehicle. I cannot go into details as the matter is under investigation. The case will be treated like any other case‚” she said.
TMG Digital/TimesLIVE
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