http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=15&art_id=ct20020718203117113C521952&set_id=1
By Gill Gifford
The angry father would have given the hijackers everything. But when they threatened his daughter, he fought back like a tiger and seconds later two gunmen lay dead in his driveway.
"I am sorry about it. I would have given them the car and money if they asked. But they threatened my child, so I did what I had to do," said the business manager shortly after Thursday's failed hijack.
The early morning attack occurred in the driveway of a suburban home in Johannesburg's Hyde Park.
Four men attacked the family as they left the house in their green Land Rover.
'He grabbed my jacket and started pulling me out of the car'
The businessman, whose identity is being withheld for security reasons, was about to take his three daughters to their primary school when the gunmen struck.
"The car was idling and before I could close the door, two guys appeared. One held a gun against my head and the other aimed at my daughter through the back window," he said.
"The one near me told me to lie down and close my eyes. Then he said he wanted the house keys, so I gave him my key. Then he grabbed my jacket and started pulling me out of the car."
The father was lying on his side, obscuring a hip holster from which he quietly pulled his own firearm.
"He didn't see my gun so, as he pulled me, I pushed him away. He turned and fired two shots at me, so I returned fire two or three times, I can't remember," said the man.
'He acted fully within the law by defending himself'
The robber was hit in the head and fell to the ground. His accomplice jumped forward.
"He told me to put down my gun or he would shoot my daughter. I panicked and chased him. There was shooting and he ran, shouting 'I will kill your daughter'. I shot at him through the window and he ran towards the wall and fell down," he said.
The injured man was also hit in the head and died in the yard.
Throughout the ordeal, the traumatised girls - aged 13, 12 and 10 - sat silently in the back seat.
Their father ordered them back into the house once the shooting had stopped, as he was worried that the hijackers might have more accomplices.
His wife, who had heard the shots, sat sobbing inside.
"There was no shouting. Just 'puh puh puh'. I thought my family was dead and I was just crying," she said, shaking violently from shock.
Struggling to speak English, the Chinese-speaking woman told how she called a friend and was only able to say: "Hijack. They kill people. Help me."
"Then I heard my daughter calling me to open the door. I was scared because I thought my husband was dead. So my sissie (helper) opened for the children and we all hid in the room."
Her husband remained calm, and tried to call the police while waiting protectively in front of the family home.
"I took the guns away because they were still in the guys' hands. Then I called 10111, but I don't know if it was shock or panic, but they didn't understand me. So I asked the children inside to try to phone," he explained.
The police responded quickly and a family friend took the children to school. Trauma counsellors were called out, and friends rallied around.
The concerned man hovered protectively near his wife, hugging her tenderly as she sobbed inconsolably.
"Two of the suspects got away. But we have taken the dead suspects' guns and we will check to see if they can be linked to any other cases," said Superintendent Chris Wilken.
Wilken said the case would be investigated; police had no reason to believe the man had acted unlawfully but the state prosecutor would decide how to proceed with the case.
"This guy was in a life-threatening situation and his family was in danger so he had every right to shoot. He acted fully within the law by defending himself," said Wilken.
By Gill Gifford
The angry father would have given the hijackers everything. But when they threatened his daughter, he fought back like a tiger and seconds later two gunmen lay dead in his driveway.
"I am sorry about it. I would have given them the car and money if they asked. But they threatened my child, so I did what I had to do," said the business manager shortly after Thursday's failed hijack.
The early morning attack occurred in the driveway of a suburban home in Johannesburg's Hyde Park.
Four men attacked the family as they left the house in their green Land Rover.
'He grabbed my jacket and started pulling me out of the car'
The businessman, whose identity is being withheld for security reasons, was about to take his three daughters to their primary school when the gunmen struck.
"The car was idling and before I could close the door, two guys appeared. One held a gun against my head and the other aimed at my daughter through the back window," he said.
"The one near me told me to lie down and close my eyes. Then he said he wanted the house keys, so I gave him my key. Then he grabbed my jacket and started pulling me out of the car."
The father was lying on his side, obscuring a hip holster from which he quietly pulled his own firearm.
"He didn't see my gun so, as he pulled me, I pushed him away. He turned and fired two shots at me, so I returned fire two or three times, I can't remember," said the man.
'He acted fully within the law by defending himself'
The robber was hit in the head and fell to the ground. His accomplice jumped forward.
"He told me to put down my gun or he would shoot my daughter. I panicked and chased him. There was shooting and he ran, shouting 'I will kill your daughter'. I shot at him through the window and he ran towards the wall and fell down," he said.
The injured man was also hit in the head and died in the yard.
Throughout the ordeal, the traumatised girls - aged 13, 12 and 10 - sat silently in the back seat.
Their father ordered them back into the house once the shooting had stopped, as he was worried that the hijackers might have more accomplices.
His wife, who had heard the shots, sat sobbing inside.
"There was no shouting. Just 'puh puh puh'. I thought my family was dead and I was just crying," she said, shaking violently from shock.
Struggling to speak English, the Chinese-speaking woman told how she called a friend and was only able to say: "Hijack. They kill people. Help me."
"Then I heard my daughter calling me to open the door. I was scared because I thought my husband was dead. So my sissie (helper) opened for the children and we all hid in the room."
Her husband remained calm, and tried to call the police while waiting protectively in front of the family home.
"I took the guns away because they were still in the guys' hands. Then I called 10111, but I don't know if it was shock or panic, but they didn't understand me. So I asked the children inside to try to phone," he explained.
The police responded quickly and a family friend took the children to school. Trauma counsellors were called out, and friends rallied around.
The concerned man hovered protectively near his wife, hugging her tenderly as she sobbed inconsolably.
"Two of the suspects got away. But we have taken the dead suspects' guns and we will check to see if they can be linked to any other cases," said Superintendent Chris Wilken.
Wilken said the case would be investigated; police had no reason to believe the man had acted unlawfully but the state prosecutor would decide how to proceed with the case.
"This guy was in a life-threatening situation and his family was in danger so he had every right to shoot. He acted fully within the law by defending himself," said Wilken.
