“Dad, there are blacks with guns in our house…’’- SMS-warning by teen to dad at choir practice…
2009-08-27 PRETORIA -- Virginia Keppler reports in Beeld newspaper that 16-year-old Lunique Lottering’s quiet SMS and string of silent ‘urgent call me’ messages at 7:45pm to her dad -- who was at his choir practice in the Old Apostolic Church in Montana, Pretoria -- very likely saved the lives of her mother and brother. Unbeknown to the robber gang holding the family at gunpoint in another bedroom, Lunique had managed to hide in her own bathroom, after spotting three black armed robbers who had tied up her brother Tyran, 11, and her mom – police superintendent Cathy Lottering – after forcing the police-woman at gunpoint to open the registered gun-safe.
The teen girl remained calm while hiding quietly in her bathroom – first turning off her cellphone sounds before silently emailing her dad – who normally never responded to calls during choir practice.
However she then also sent him a constant stream of ‘urgently call me SMS’s after speaking in her warning message: “Dad there are blacks with guns in our house.’ Riaan Lottering, 44, noting his vibrating cellphone, decided to check the stream of messages just on a hunch – and immediately phoned the police and their private security company ADT before rushing home with a fellow choir-member.
Enroute, he also managed to stop a passing police patrol and asked their help. Arriving at his home with the police patrol car in his wake, Lottering immediately noted an unknown luxury Audi parked in his driveway – from which a black man, armed with a 9mm pistol, emerged and immediately fired a shot at him – which penetrated his bakkie’s door and struck him in the right-leg just above his knee.
Police captain Jan Sepato said a ‘wild chase and gun-fight then erupted between the police and the four-member gang and more than 100 shots were exchanged. The robber gang’s Audi had its rear window shot out, and the police vehicle also was struck numerous times with 9mm pistol bullets and R5 (the South African military attack carbine) bullets.’
The gang then fled. They had robbed three cellphones, two pistols, a laptop computer and a TV set. The family is convinced that the gang had also planned to kill the police-superintendent and her young son because they would have been able to identify the robbers – but their plans were interrupted by the arrival of the father and the police.
Here’s the question: how did this robber gang know that the Lottering family had a centrally- registered gun-safe – required by law for all the legal owners of registered guns in South Africa?
Man shot, injured near Centurion rugby club
2009-09-02 - Virginia Keppler also reported that an unnamed employee of the Centurion Academy is in serious condition at the Unitas-Hospital in Pretoria, after he was shot in the upper-body during the Spring-Day celebrations at the Centurion rugby club.
Police sergeant Lynnette Erasmus said the victim and two colleagues were walking to the rugby-club at around 3:30 pm when a man in a 4W vehicle stopped next to them. “The victim walked to the vehicle as he recognised the man, whereupon the driver of the vehicle pulled out a firearm and fired a shot,’ she said. The victim shouted: “Mr Vorster has shot me’ in Afrikaans before falling down. His colleagues immediately rushed to help him and took him to Unitas-Hospital. The suspect was arrested about three hours later in nearby Irene on a charge of attempted murder.
More details are not known at this time. http://www.beeld.com/Content/Suid-Afrika/Nuus/1928/42f125bb445c4696ac23da3ace196a2e/02-09-2009%2002-09/Man_tydens_lentedag-fees_geskiet
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