Man shot in the eye; suspect nabbed

A BRAVE Asherville man was shot in the eye while trying to stop a gang of armed robbers from entering his property on Sunday afternoon. Theo Murugasa, 35, is recovering after undergoing surgery on Monday to save his right eye. Soon after the shooting, a 33-year-old suspect was arrested and charged with attempted murder. He appeared in the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Monday. Asherville CPF chairperson Prem Ganasparsadh said the family had two gardeners working in the yard and one of them asked for the front gate to be opened so he could go to a nearby tuckshop. “Seconds after he opened the gate, five suspects in a BMW arrived and jumped out of the vehicle brandishing firearms. One tried to push past the victim to enter the property but a fight broke out between them.” During the scuffle, Murugasa was shot once in the eye. The suspects fled and Murugasa was taken to hospital. His family declined to comment but residents are outraged. “We cannot live like this. That young man could have been killed in his own home. Crime is getting out of hand,” said a 66-year-old woman. A mother of two said her home had been broken into a few times. “With the festive season approaching, it is only going to get worse. We need police to patrol.” Ganasparsadh said: “We have had a few hijackings and robberies but as a community we need to be more proactive and vigilant. We need to unite and plan around how we are going to tackle this issue.” A meeting to address crime will be held at the David Landau Community Centre on Sunday at 3pm. Police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Thulani Zwane confirmed the arrest and said that a case of attempted murder was being investigated.