SEASIDE RAMPAGE
ACOASTAL village was thrown into turmoil on Thursday night after a resident allegedly went on the rampage, throwing pool acid at two men, hurling rocks and abuse at motorists and slinging red paint and beer bottles all over the road outside his home.
Rattled residents of the sleepy seaside village of Sunrise-on-Sea told the Daily Dispatch they were living in fear and appealed for authorities to help Gavin Weyer, 48, with urgent psychiatric treatment.
A mother and her daughter fled their Sunrise-on-Sea house in their pyjamas after Weyer allegedly began waving a chainsaw outside his rambling, graffiti-covered doublestorey house which he reportedly set alight last November.
The seaside village’s community policing forum (CPF) chairman Johan Oelofse said “all hell broke loose” on Thursday night and that residents were now terrified Weyer was in a violent frame of mind and would hurt them.
Police were called to the scene on Thursday night and Friday morning, but Weyer was not removed.
“We just want him to get psychiatric help and can’t understand why the police can’t help us,” said Oelofse.
However, a defiant Weyer yesterday said a “cult” that existed in Sunrise-on-Sea was hell-bent on getting rid of him.
Weyer’s neighbour, Nadege Rankin, said Weyer, who built his large home on Albatross Road about 25 years ago, had allegedly set fire to the home he was sharing with his elderly father in November last year.
“My daughter saw smoke and banged on his door and he was in a stupor and his dad was in a wheelchair and he said he did it because ‘if people want my house, they can have it’.”
Weyer’s father died days after the fire gutted a large section of the house.
Oelofse said Weyer began to paint the exterior of his home with messages and private property signs.
“The red flag flew when he began to scribble graffiti on his house about two months ago, but on Monday he started writing messages on the community notice board at the entrance to the village. It was weird stuff saying that we hate him and that we want to take over.”
On Thursday morning the situation came to a head after Weyer allegedly removed the notice board