Athina May
A Table View Neighbourhood Watch (TVNW) member narrowly escaped death after being stabbed in the chest while investigating a tip-off about the inhabitants of a car behaving suspiciously in the area.
The watch member, who wanted to remain anonymous, received the tip-off about a Mercedes Benz circling the Bloubergrant area in Centlivres Crescent on Thursday February 11.
On investigating the matter, he found the vehicle and a man close by lingering outside a residential driveway.
“He was 50 metres down the driveway and walked towards me as I approached.
“I said good evening and asked him what he was doing. He told me that he was urinating in the driveway on his way home.
“I asked where home was, and he couldn’t tell me the road or house number he was staying at,” said the watch member.
“This sounded suspicious, but he didn’t look drunk so I was not concerned. He told me he would show me where he lives, as if trying to lure me away from the driveway, I then called on the TVNW radio for assistance, and he then turned around and stabbed me and ran off.”
Not realising immediately that he had been stabbed, the TVNW member pursued the suspect who had run into the field on Centlivres Crescent, and gave a description of the suspect on the watch radio. However, his ability to breathe was impacted by the stab wound and his running pace slowed down until he eventually collapsed on the field.
Minutes later TVNW members and community medics arrived on the scene to assist the injured member, and SAPS were notified of the attack. Milnerton police spokeswoman Warrant Officer Daphne O’Reilly confirmed that the watch member was stabbed in the upper chest and said the driver of the Mercedes drove off, while the suspect fled on foot.
“The authorities came to assist the victim and an hour later, Table View police received a complaint of a suspicious person on the roof of a house in the area.
“They investigated and found a man who confessed to hiding because he had been chased by someone,” said Warrant Officer O’Reilly.
Police took the man in for questioning and discovered that he had stabbed the TVNW member. A knife was found on him.
“The suspect, a 30-year-old man from Kensington, was arrested for attempted murder and taken into custody. he appeared in court on Saturday February 13, and the case was postponed for further investigation,” said Warrant Officer O’Reilly.
The watch member told Tabletalk that the stab wound he sustained to the chest was five centimetres deep, causing his sternum to break, but that he was expected to make a full recovery as none of his vital organs were pierced by the knife.
* Four armed men robbed the Stodels nursery in Racecourse Road, Milnerton, on Thursday February 11.
Warrant Officer O’Reilly said the robbers threatened the cashier with a gun and took an undisclosed amount of cash from the till.
Before leaving, they ordered the cashier and other employees into a staff room where they took their cellphones and other personal belongings. Warrant Officer O’Reilly said the men were still at large and police were viewing security camera footage to aid their investigation.
“Victim Support was arranged for the victims, and a case of business robbery was registered and will be investigated by SAPS’ Serious and Violent Crime Unit,” she said.