Police have urged residents to be vigilant after robbers stabbed an elderly man at his upper Market Street, #Grahamstown home around 2.30pm on Saturday 22 August.
Police have urged residents to be vigilant after robbers stabbed an elderly man at his upper Market Street, #Grahamstown home around 2.30pm on Saturday 22 August.
This is the third attack in the Sunnnyside area, which police say is currently being targeted by criminals.
While police at the scene would not confirm details of the incident, a neighbour said the man had been walking from his house to his front gate, when two men accosted him.
According to the unconfirmed account, they forced him inside the house, where they demanded his cellphone and other electronic goods. During the confrontation, the neighbour said, the man was stabbed.
Grahamstown Crime Intelligence Officer Captain Milanda Coetzer later confirmed that the man, 73, was stable. “He lost a lot of blood, however,” Coetzer said around 5.30pm on Saturday 22 August in response to questions.
Grahamstown Police Station Commander Colonel Vivian Tembani, speaking at the scene of the attack, urged residents to be on the alert for unusual or suspicious behaviour in their neighbourhoods.
She said the police had a plan in place to put a halt to the recent spate of robberies in Grahamstown, and urged communities to work together to prevent more.
“I am so upset that people are not safe in their own homes,” Tembani said. “We are working flat-out to catch these criminals, and we expect a break-through within the next two days.”
Another top police officer at the scene, Colonel Monray Nel, said recent robberies had been opportunistic.
“People are still careless,” he said. “They leave doors open or unlocked.”
Nel supported Tembani’s call for neighbours to watch each other’s backs and urged residents to communicate unusual activity through neighbourhood WhatsApp or other social media groups.
She said police could also advise residents how to establish neighbourhood safety groups.
Nel allayed fears that Grahamstown had overnight turned into town full of criminals.
“This is a small group of repeat offenders at work,” Nel said.
Tembani said, “It is almost certainly linked to the fact that a lot of people were recently released on parole.
“The items they are stealing – laptops, cellphones – these are items they can easily turn over for quick money – and that’s what they’re after. They’re looking for money to live on.
“We are after them, and we have a plan in place to catch them,” she said.
“The cases we’ve had reported in the past two weeks strongly suggest that the Sunnyside area is being targeted.”
This is the third attack in the area in the past seven days that Grocott’s Mail has reported on. In all three cases, as well as two other recent robberies, police statements describe the victims being treated forcefully: either locked up, covered up or tied up.
This is the second case we have reported on in which a person has been physically assaulted. Last weekend, students were pepper-sprayed by three robbers in a university residence.
Three Grahamstown robberies in this spate were conducted in pre-dawn hours, this is the second to occur in broad daylight.*
In all five cases Grocott’s Mail has reported on in the past week, police said the target was electronic equipment – cellphones, laptops and tablets in particular.
STAY SAFE IN YOUR NEIGHBOURHOOD, AND AT HOME:
Tips from Colonel Vivian Tembani and Captain Milanda Coetzer
Secure your home:
- Secure doors and windows properly at night, and don’t leave unguarded doors open during the day.
- Making sure you have armed your alarm before going to bed if you have one.
- Always keeping a emergency number on speed dial. Ie 10 111 or your security company’s armed response. Be clear and coherent when providing details of address should you need to phone and give details of where you are and what has happened.
If someone does break in while you're at home:
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Identify a safe room or area in the house and stay there undetected if possible.
- In the event of being confronted by intruders, please stay calm. Do not resist the intruders. However, take the time to calm your mind and note as many details as possible about your intruders. Not there language, mannerisms and clothes, but particularly try and find a clear distinguishing feature on their faces or bodies. Sometimes a tattoo may be visible or there may be a birthmark, spot, mole or scarring.
- As soon as the intruders leave, immediately make contact with the SAPS if you were not able to do so before. Please do not touch anything in the house as this may hamper the collection of evidence.
General neighbourhood safety:
- If someone comes to your door or front gate, don’t open for them unless you know who they are.
- If you see strangers loitering in your neighbourhood, share the information with your neighbours through a neighbourhood alert system, such as a WhatsApp group, and thepolice.
- Sunnyside residents who would like to join the Sunnyside Buurtwag group should send a text to Captain Milanda Coetzer at 082 253 4308.
Keep track of your electronics:
- It is important for the SAPS to be able to trace stolen property. In order to do so we will need serial numbers of property. It is always wise to have a pad in your home where all the serial numbers and IMEI numbers(cellphones) are listed in the event that property is stolen. It is also important to blacklist a phone forthwith in order to hamper the sale and circulation thereof.
* Edited to include more safety and security tips, as well as correction: this is the second daytime robbery in the current spate.
