Family’s terror as gung-ho cops open fire on their vehicle

A PRETORIA family stared death in the face when police allegedly opened fire on them‚ leaving two people wounded and their car riddled with bullet holes.

Joseph Ngobeni, 58, told how he used his body to shield his 16-yearold granddaughter as bullets pierced the car and seats on Friday night‚ hitting the teenager‚ Kutlwano‚ in the shoulder. Kutlwano was rushed to George Mukhari Hospital in Garankuwa.

Four of the bullets that struck the car grazed Ngobeni’s right arm.

“They clearly wanted to kill us. I was scared for my life‚” he said.

Their ordeal began at about 7pm as they were driving along Buitekant Road in Soshanguve, when a bakkie tried to push them off the road.

Ngobeni said the bakkie did not have clear police markings.

Ngobeni said the driver of the bakkie then switched on police blue lights and gave chase‚ with those inside allegedly opening fire on the family’s SUV.

“They continued shooting for about 5km, until we got to our driveway,” he said.

Ngobeni alleged that when the police realised they had made a mistake‚ they simply drove off without assisting the wounded.

“They claimed to have received satellite tracking information that the car was hijacked,” Ngobeni said.

“But we posed no danger to them. Why did they try to kill us?”

Soshanguve police station spokeswoman Constable Zanele Mtsweni said two police officers were being investigated for attempted murder in connection with the incident. – TMG Digital