Visitor stabbed by Walmer intruders

A Lesotho father, who was visiting Port Elizabeth with his wife and daughter at the weekend, was stabbed during an attempted robbery at a cottage in Walmer on Monday.

The incident happened shortly after midnight at the self-catering cottage on the corner of Villiers Road and 8th Avenue.

According to police, the mother, father and daughter had come to the city to look for accommodation for the teenager, who was set to start studying in Port Elizabeth next year.

Police spokesperson Colonel Priscilla Naidu said the father, 52, was woken up by the screams of his daughter, 18.

“The daughter had been sitting in the lounge [using] her cellphone when she was confronted by two men.

“One man grabbed her cellphone and she started to scream.

“When the other suspect tried to put his hand over her mouth, she bit him,” she said.

“The father woke up to the noise and went to investigate.

“He confronted the two suspects in the lounge and a scuffle ensued.

“During the altercation, one of the men ran away.

“However, the father managed to grab the second man, who stabbed him in the upper body with a knife.

“During the commotion, the suspect threw the cellphone at the father and fled [emptyhanded].”

Asked how the robbers had gained entry to the outside flatlet, Naidu said there were no signs of forced entry.

“It appears that one of the doors had been left unlocked, which is how they got into the cottage.”

Police suspect the men scaled the perimeter wall – which is protected by an electric fence – to gain entry to the yard.

Naidu said the father was treated at the scene by medics and went to a hospital later for further treatment.

The family left the Bay before midday.

Property owner Pieter Wolmarans said the flatlet was separate from the main house and was usually part of a long-term rental.

Wolmarans said when no long-term lease was in place, the unit was rented out short term.

“They [Lesotho family] had booked in for two days,” he said.

“It looks like they [robbers] managed to open a window and get the keys to unlock the door.

“We are not sure exactly how they got in.

“There was a confrontation and it appears that they tried to stab the father.

“He did go to the emergency room and they cleaned the wound and patched him up.”

Asked if he would beef up security, Wolmarans said there was already an alarm system, connected to the electric fence, in place

“It appears the fence did not activate when the intruders entered, but it tripped when they left,” he said. Wolmarans said he would be looking at additional security measures.

“This is the first time [something like] this has happened.

“Everyone is obviously shaken up, but I am just glad no one was seriously hurt.”

Naidu said police were investigating a case of attempted murder and attempted robbery.

Last month, a 25-year-old woman from Durban was attacked inside a lodge in Main Road, Walmer.

The incident took place shortly after 1am, when the woman heard someone trying to open the bedroom door.

She ran outside, screaming for help, and the robbers fled with her laptop.

In January, Mthethuvumile Mcopele, 31, allegedly tried to rob an 87-year-old man and his son, 65, inside a flatlet at a guesthouse in Union Road, Walmer.

Mcopele, who was allegedly armed with a knife when he climbed through a bathroom window into the flatlet, died during a scuffle with the two men from Gauteng.

Naidu said detectives were investigating if any of the attacks were linked.

‘Everyone is shaken up, but I am just glad no one was seriously hurt’ Pieter Wolmarans PROPERTY OWNER