Bay woman turns tables on intruders
CCTV shows how Pari Park resident fired at housebreakers
THE tables were turned on violent crime yesterday as three intruders got the fright of their lives when a feisty, pyjama-clad Port Elizabeth woman fired shots at them as they charged at her, one of them armed with a kitchen knife.
Chilling footage from CCTV cameras inside Driekie Croucamp’s Pari Park home shows how the three men gained access to the house through a window and prowled around, armed with a knife which they looked ready to use against anyone they might encounter.
The video also clearly captures the dramatic standoff between Croucamp, 39, and two of the three men, who were also armed with a screwdriver, when they broke into the house at about 2.30am.
The footage shows the men – wearing beanies and gloves – creeping through the three-storey house, one clutching a knife, after gaining access by forcing a window open and then breaking through the burglar bars.
They first go into the garage where they take an electrical lead, presumably to tie up the occupants. They then creep up a staircase, only metres away from where Croucamp’s boyfriend, Craven Coetzee, 42, was sleeping in a room on the third floor.
Croucamp said she woke up in her bedroom after hearing a noise inside the house while Coetzee was sleeping upstairs.
Coetzee, a night owl who owns an IT company, often sleeps in the upstairs room as he works into the early hours.
“I first thought it was him [Co- etzee] in the kitchen making food. I dozed off again, but then heard another noise,” Croucamp said.
“I grabbed my gun and went to investigate.”
Croucamp was on the second floor when she encountered two of the intruders.
“As I walked into the passage, I saw one man coming up the stairs. I think I screamed ‘freeze!’ and all of a sudden he came at me with a knife,” she said.
Not knowing how many intruders were in the house, Croucamp fired two shots at the man.
“He immediately turned around and jumped out the window that they had forced open,” she said.
One bullet hit the passage wall and the other went through the top of a glass window.
“Afterwards, I was shaking. It is obviously the adrenalin that kicked in,” Croucamp said, while watching the CCTV footage.
“It is scary to see that they had already gone through the house when I confronted them.”
Coetzee, who also owns a gun, sprung out of bed on hearing the gunshots. “I ran down the stairs but the men had already run away,” he said. “The initial shock that these guys were in our house with knives is scary.
“We are beefing up our security now and getting reinforced burglar bars put in.”
Police arrived shortly after the incident and searched the area.
Police spokesman Warrant Officer Alwin Labans said the only items stolen were a wallet and bank cards.
“It is presumed the men fled over the perimeter back fence.”
Labans said police, who had searched the house for clues, were investigating a case of attempted murder and robbery.