‘My wife is in that car!’ gunman shouts after shooting at Merc in Erasmia

Shortly after at least seven shots were fired at a black Mercedes-Benz and it crashed in Erasmia, Centurion, a man who refused to back down shouted at a security officer on patrol: “My wife is in that car!”

Abram Appel, from Cops Tactical Reaction Services in Laudium, was on duty in the area when he heard several gunshots on Monday

“I drove up the road and when I stopped close to Barbara Coetzer Street, I saw a black Mercedes had crashed into an electricity box,” Appel told TimesLIVE.

He stopped at the scene and saw three men, who were travelling in a white BMW 1 Series, were kicking the driver’s side window of the black Mercedes CL500.

Gauteng police said the driver of the Mercedes was a 33-year-old man. TimesLIVE understands he is a well-known personality in the Erasmia area.

“I took out my firearm, but I didn’t point it at them. I basically warned them to stop. One of the guys, who was putting his firearm at the back of his pants, told me it had nothing to do with me.”

Appel said as an officer on patrol, he replied: “This has everything to do with me.”

The man repeatedly shouted that his wife was inside the Mercedes, he said

The trio refused to back down and then pulled the injured driver out of the Mercedes.

“They started kicking and hitting him. They took bricks next to the car and started hitting him.”

The ex-police officer said a man started calling a woman’s name while his accomplices continued to beat the injured driver. 

“One big guy was hitting him in the face with a brick,” said Appel. “He called her name but I can’t remember her name because everything happened so fast.”

A few minutes later, a woman got out of the passenger side of the Mercedes and climbed into the white BMW.

“She got in with them and they drove off.”

Appel said he immediately called his control room to dispatch police and an ambulance.

“The ambulance arrived within minutes and started working on the victim. While the paramedics were working on him, I kept people away so they did not interfere with the evidence.”

He said several 9mm bullet casings were found at the scene.

“You could see they shot from behind first because the front window and the driver side had bullet holes. There were no bullet holes on the passenger side of the vehicle because I think they knew the woman was in the car,” he said.

Gauteng police confirmed one person was arrested after the incident.

Spokesperson Capt Mavela Masondo said after the shooting was reported to the police, a vehicle fitting the description of the suspects’ BMW was spotted in Johannesburg CBD.

One suspect was arrested and a firearm suspected to have been used in the shooting was recovered, said Masondo. 

National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana confirmed 42-year-old Suliman Aboo had appeared in the Atteridgeville magistrate’s court.

Aboo was charged with attempted murder, possession of an unlicensed firearm and unlicensed ammunition.

He was granted bail of R1,000 and is expected back in court on September 6. 

TimesLIVE