Two men killed in Pretoria Robberies

Garyvdh said:

Two men have been shot and killed during separate business robberies in Pretoria West, Gauteng police said on Tuesday.

Louis du Toit, 27, a butchery manager, was shot and killed outside his shop on Monday around 9am, Captain Bonginkosi Msimango said.

He was on his way to the bank accompanied by his security guard.

"While going out of the shop to his car, three men armed with firearms attacked them and the manager was fatally shot in to the lower body."

He was declared dead on the scene at the corners of Vom Hagen and Eskia Mphahlele streets.

An undisclosed amount of cash was taken. The robbers sped off in a red Toyota Corolla which was later found abandoned.

Beeld reported that he was the manager of the Pretoria Hyper Chicken & Meat.

In a separate incident, a 41-year-old motor spares shop owner was shot and killed around 2.30pm on Soutter street during another robbery on Monday.

According to Beeld he was Jury Hayes, of Toyco Motor Spares.

Three armed men approached the teller and demanded money.

"When the owner realised that something was not right he entered the door and found suspects wielding firearms."

He pretended to be a customer and as he tried to walk out, he was shot in the back. He died on the scene.

"A white Toyota Corolla 2005 model was used as a getaway car," Msimango said.

No arrests had been made in either of the murders.


Source : Sapa /mr/fg/lp/th
Date : 03 Mar 2015 12:12

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Pretoria - When Louis du Toit stepped outside the Pretoria Chicken and Meat store he managed in Pretoria West, his colleagues did not know that would be the last time they would see him alive. Minutes later he was lying dead on the pavement - a robber’s bullet in his chest.

Two robbers pounced on Du Toit, 29, as he was leaving the outlet at the corner of Es’kia Mphahlele and Vom Hagen streets, just outside the CBD, taking the weekend’s takings to the bank.

A windscreen washer who witnessed the shooting said Du Toit was approached by one of the robbers who demanded he hand over the money bag. “When he refused, the man pulled out a gun and shot him in the shoulder, then took the bag and ran away with his accomplice,” the washer, who didn’t want to be named, said.

The robbers got into a red Toyota Corolla further down the street and sped off. The car was later found abandoned in Bremmer Street.

Peter Swanepoel, a director at the store, said the responsibility of depositing money was alternated between them.

“I was meant to make the deposit, but he called me in the morning and said he wouldn’t mind going because he had to go to the bank anyway to increase his daily withdrawal limit,” Swanepoel said.

He said that when he handed Du Toit the bag with the R140 000 he advised him to be careful.

“I didn’t see the shooting because I was inside the store. I did not even hear the shot. Someone came running in to tell me Louis had been shot,” said Swanepoel.

He lamented the time it took for an ambulance to arrive at the scene.

“We called the Tshwane Emergency Services and a private ambulance service, but it took Tshwane Emergency Services 30 minutes to get here and the other service called us to tell us they were lost, but by then it was too late,” he said.

Du Toit’s wife Antoinette was too distraught to speak to the media. The couple had a 2-year-old daughter.

Tshwane Emergency Services spokesman Johan Pieterse said it was unfortunate that Du Toit died before an ambulance arrived at the scene.

“We have a limited number of ambulances stretched across Tshwane, which has a population of 3 million people. We try our best to cater for every incident,” he said.

Police spokesman Bonginkosi Msimango said a case of murder and armed robbery was being investigated.

Stunned bystanders watched as police took down statements.

Staff at the outlet stared through the store’s window at Dut Toit’s body, shock visible on their faces.

An emotional woman at the scene said she had known Du Toit for three years.

“Louis was kind to me. I stay at the homeless shelter and he would help me with whatever he could when I needed it,” said the woman who did not want to give her name.

A salesman who said he had been working with Du Toit for seven years stood less than a metre from Du Toit’s body, staring in disbelief at the spot where Du Toit lay, dressed in khaki shorts, a grey T-shirt and a brown hoody.

David Mosi said he was hurt by what had happened. “He was really nice; he didn’t discriminate against anyone,” Mosi said.

After the police drove off, the store was reopened and shaken employees went back to work.

Pretoria News

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Garyvdh said:

Reading this article, I have to ask.... why didn't they use a Cash Collection service? :wtf:

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Fudzy said:

As a company owner I wouldn't put the onus of carrying large amounts of cash on employees (unless they were employed as cash in transit guards etc)

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Garyvdh said:

R140K is too much even for the company owner to carry.

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Fudzy said:

Any idea what sort of percentage the cash collection services take? The owners thought that amount was worth the risk.

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