Hijack survivor tells all
NURSING bullet wounds to his legs and ankle, Parlock crime-fighter Shaun Harri Gobind is relieved he is still alive after he was shot three times during a violent hijacking outside his home.
The 37-year-old IT specialist was discharged from hospital at the weekend after a harrowing few days days which he feared would be his last.
Harri Gobind was sitting in the passenger seat of his friend’s red Golf GTI when the pair were accosted by two men armed with guns and knifes last Wednesday.
“I was at my friend’s office in town doing some work for him. Afterwards, we went to a car-wash in Parlock and then he dropped me off at my home. We were parked next to my fence and we were chatting,” he said. “I had my window down.”
Harri Gobind said within seconds, two men were at his door.
“I felt someone pull at my shirt and then the first hijacker punched me on my chest. I then left the buttons of my shirt open. I looked up and saw a thin, short, well-dressed man, who looked like he was in his thirties, stare back at me. He took his gun and held it to the left side of my temple. He was fiddling with the trigger.”
Harri Gobind said he pushed the gun away from his head but the man shot him in the left leg.
“The second hijacker held a knife to my friend’s head. He pulled him out of the vehicle and took his valuables before searching his pockets. When he felt my gun holster, he screamed I had a gun.”
Harri Gobind said the first hijacker then pointed the gun to his face.
CHARLENE SOMDUTH
“I pushed the gun again and he shot at my right ankle. The second hijacker pulled the gun out of my holster and got out of the vehicle. I fought with the first hijacker and wrestled him to the ground, but he manage to escape.”
Unable to go after the man owing to his wounds, Harri Gobind could only watch as ran off. His shock turned to horror as the gunman stopped, turned around and shot him once more – this time on his right thigh.The hijackers fled with the Golf.
“I saw them casually drive off with the vehicle and then my vision started to get blurry.
Harri Gobind said he was a member of the
Tactical Shooting Team (TST), which is both a shooting club and anticrime group. He sent a voice note to the TST WhatsApp group requesting help.
“Before I knew it police, ambulance services and even a helicopter were dispatched to help me,” he said.
He was taken to King Edward VIII Hospital and treated by a Dr Kevin Naidu , who was also a member of the group.
“I am so grateful for all the assistance and everyone who came to my aid,” said Harri Gobind. “Crime in our country is bad. We must always be vigilant and never take your eye off your surroundings,” he said.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Thulani Zwane said a case of carjacking was being investigated.
No arrests had been made and the vehicle had not been recovered, he said.