Bruns Street horror described

‘He was lying on his back, bending the gate up.’ The suspect got in quickly under the gate and hit Barker over the head with a heavy piece of wood.

The violent attack on a Mossel Bay resident, Guy Barker (59), in his home in broad daylight, has sent shockwaves through the community, raising questions about safety in town. Barker was relaxing on his couch on the second floor of his house in Bruns Street, Upper Town, on Thursday, 11 October at lunch time, when he heard a banging noise at his kitchen gate. His home property is fenced and the whole house is burglar proofed. "I first thought it was the dog and walked downstairs," Barker says. His dog, however is old and not aggressive. When Barker got to his kitchen door he saw a man lying on his back, bending the steel security gate at another doorway of the house that opened to the outside. That security gate was locked, but the door was open. "I asked him what he was doing and told him I was going to call the police. “He was lying on his back, bending the gate up." The suspect got in quickly under the gate and hit Barker over the head with a heavy piece of wood. "He was also surprised that someone was here." After some time Barker, who was lying in a pool of blood in his kitchen, regained consciousness and got up. "I went through to the bedroom, where he asked me in English where my money was. "I told him I didn't have any money and he attacked me again." The suspect fled with a hard drive containing Barker's work archives of the last 14 years, cellphones and a laptop. Barker once again lost consciousness and can't remember where he woke up the second time. He phoned a colleague, who came to his house to assist him. His wife, Kate is a local pharmacist in Mossel Bay and Barker says he shudders at the thought of what might have happened to her or their children if they were home during the incident. Barker was admitted to Life Bay View Hospital in Mossel Bay, where he was treated for multiple injuries including a fractured skull, broken ribs and deep cuts to his head. He said: "It's not just a problem in this suburb, what about the people in the township and in other areas in Mossel Bay, who are faced with this threat daily, where people get killed for a box of cigarettes?" Barker says crime is a major problem and it is endemic. "There is no respect for human life in South Africa at the moment. Other than putting in a panic button, there is not much one can do. "The major issue is unemployment and what we really need is an education programme. We have to get rid of the 'Tik heads' and deal with the drug issue in Mossel Bay. The chair of the local neighbourhood watch, Leon van Dyk, says the watch is worried about the increase in crime and especially violent crimes. "There are 22 neighbourhood watches, four farm watches, four police stations and seven security companies in one forum in Mossel Bay. "Only 18% of residents are involved in the neighourhood watches. Many residents feel that safety is not their responsibility but that of the state. The number of crimes committed in the last 14 days in Mossel Bay is proof that a relatively safe environment is quickly starting to turn in another direction. Seven burglaries have been reported in two weeks."

Photos: Louise Karsten Barker at the security gate where the attacker entered. INSERT: (Top) The assailant used this heavy piece of wood. (Right) The gate lock remained in place even though the bottom of the gate was bent open.