The security guard of a bread delivery truck is lucky to be alive after a robber’s gun jammed when he tried to shoot.
The skelm, a man in his thirties, was then gunned down by the wakker guard, while the suspect’s two accomplices were scared off and drove away in their getaway car.
Jason da Silver, the owner of Jason’s Distributors, says this is the fourth time in less than six months that his company has been targeted.
Yesterday’s incident took place in N2 Gateway, Delft, at about 7.30am.
He says his driver’s armed escort, Denver Dirks, who also works as a police reservist at Delft SAPS, noticed the three men in a white Toyota Corolla while they were making a delivery in Leeu Street.
One of the robbers took out a firearm and pointed the gun at Denver, but it jammed.
Denver then opened fire on the robber and killed him.
The driver and two assistants were unharmed.
Jason says he survived another robbery two weeks ago, while two of his armed escorts were shot and wounded in Delft.
“This morning we were lucky because the gun of the skollie jammed,” he tells Daily Voice.
“Two weeks ago while I was sitting in my own vehicle I was held at gunpoint and R83 000 was taken.
“A month ago another armed escort was shot in the stomach in Leiden; luckily he had on a bulletproof vest.
“Five months ago an armed escort was also shot in the stomach in Leiden and survived because he too had on his bulletproof vest.
“I have four trucks that deliver to this community, law enforcement needs to do something to protect the trucks delivering bread.”
Jamiel Spannenberg, the newly appointed Community Policing Forum Chairperson in Delft, says the off-duty reservist should be commended: “He is a police reservist and is very skilled. He saw the suspect had a gun and reacted.”
Denver said yesterday he was still too shaken up to be interviewed.
Captain FC van Wyk says an inquest docket has been opened for investigation. Cops are also investigating a case of attempted armed robbery, and the dead suspect’s firearm was recovered at the scene.
Meanwhile, Spannenberg says Delft police have been hard at work to solve the recent spate of murders.
“Since last weekend there have been 12 murders, I must commend the detectives who made arrests on all the cases,” he says.
The youngest victim to lose his life in the gang-related murders was little Macheano Geswindt, four, who was gunned down in front of his home, a suspected drug den.
Reggie Maart, the Blue Downs Cluster Chairperson, says a meeting will be held soon to discuss the violence.
“Out of that 12 murders, six were stabbings linked to crime committed at shebeens,” he says.