Man dies in failed hijacking
AN M Secure supervisor was shot in the chest in Port Elizabeth yesterday morning and died in hospital a few hours later.
Sheldon Philander, 40, from Booysen Park, was shot at about 7.30am in front of the Govan Mbeki Clinic in Missionvale while conducting site visits with two other security guards.
M Secure managing director Laurence Barends said the details of the shooting were still unclear.
“Initial indications were that it was an attempted hijacking as the driver’s side window had been smashed during the incident,” Barends said.
He said the suspects had taken the guards’ and Philander’s cellphones and fled.
“Emergency services rushed Philander to Greenacres Hospital and, unfortunately, he succumbed to his injuries late this afternoon. “This is a very sad day for us.” Philander, who joined M Secure in 2012, lived with his 81-year-old father in Booysen Park and was engaged.
His older brother, Cedric Human, said Philander had been the kind of person who would not harm a fly.
Human said his brother, the youngest of five children, had been a hard worker and had remained at home to look after their elderly father.
He urged the government to act against the senseless killings and called for the return of the death penalty.
“I’m going to lobby for the death penalty to come back,” Human said.
Police spokesman captain Andre Beetge confirmed the shooting.