Gunmen leave a trail of terror

A Pretoria community policing forum member was shot and critically injured in a botched hijacking at about 7pm on Sunday night.

Jan Botha, 51, had just returned to his Pierre van Ryneveld home when he was attacked by two gunmen as he parked his car.

It is the sixth such attack on Pretoria homeowners in the past week and gunmen left a trail of terror behind them. See Crime rampage: business demands answers

In the past week, three people were killed and four critically injured in a series of house robberies and attempted hijackings.

CCTV footage from Botha's home security system shows a white Toyota Corolla driving past his home several times shortly before the gunmen launched their attack.

The gunmen, who were armed with a Colt 45, attacked Botha as he walked towards his carport and shot him in the pelvis at point-blank range.

The footage shows how the gunmen grabbed the keys of Botha's Opel Corsa, wallet and cellphone as he collapsed to the ground before one of them ran towards his wife, Ronel, as she went outside to investigate.

Ronel managed to escape by running back inside the house to raise the alarm.

Minutes later, the hijackers drove slowly out of the driveway of Botha's home and made their escape.

The gunmen were forced to abandon the car and flee on foot when the vehicle's anti-hijacking device stalled the car.

Neighbour Jaco Engelbrecht said he was in his garage when he heard a gunshot.

"As I ran outside I saw two men driving slowly out of the driveway in Jan's car. I did not know what was happening and watched as they drove off," he said.

He added that the men were not in a hurry and had watched him closely as they drove off.

"It was as though they were not afraid of anything. It was as though they had all the time in the world and were not scared of getting caught," he said.

He said that when he saw Botha he immediately told him to find his wife as he thought there was someone in the house.

Engelbrecht said he kicked down the front door and found Botha's wife. He then rushed her outside.

"When I found her she was shaking. I grabbed her and a blanket and just ran. I did not know if there were more people inside and I wanted to get her out of the house as quickly as possible," he said, describing how they had helped Botha until an ambulance arrived.

Ruan Vermaak, Lifemed Ambulance Services spokesman, said Botha was in a critical condition in Unitas Hospital.

He said he had sustained severe injuries to his pelvis from the gunshot wound.

Wife tells of husband being shot

"When I saw the gun I went blank I didn't think. I just ran."

These were the chilling words of Pretoria mother of two, Ronel Botha, as she described her family's ordeal at the hands of two gunmen who attacked their Pierre van Ryneveld home on Sunday night.

Botha had managed to flee back into her house after she was confronted by the gunmen when she ran outside after hearing a loud bang caused by what she thought was her husband crashing into their garage.

"All I could think about was my son. When the footsteps stopped I thought we were dead. I thought the man on the other side of the door was going to shoot."

Instead, she found the two men standing over her bleeding and screaming husband, Jan, 51, who had been shot through the pelvis with a Colt .45 at point-blank range.

Botha on Monday recalled the family's terrifying ordeal from Unitas Hospital where her husband is recovering.

Miraculously, the bullet, which tore through him, missed all his vital organs.

Botha described how, as she screamed in fear, one of the gunmen charged her down, pushing a gun towards her face as she stood in the doorway metres from her husband.

"When I saw the gun I went blank I just ran."

Botha slammed shut the front door as the gunman shoved his weapon into her face.

She screamed to her teenage son, Ruan, who was inside the house, to run before she grabbed a radio linked to the suburb's CPF and pleaded for help.

As mother and son charged into the bathroom, she locked the door and waited, putting herself between Ruan and what she thought was inevitable death.

"I have never been so scared in my life. All I could think about was my son. When I heard the front door being kicked in and footsteps coming down the passage and then stop outside the bathroom I thought we were dead. I thought the man on the other side was going to shoot," she said.

She did not then know that the man on the other side of the door was their neighbour, Jaco Engelbrecht, who, after hearing the gunshot, had run to the family's rescue.

Botha, describing the shooting from CCTV footage from the family's home security system, said the gunmen had opened fire without warning.

The footage shows a white Toyota Corolla driving up and down outside Botha's home moments after he arrives home.

Minutes later, two men are seen approaching the house, lifting the electric driveway gate off its runners and sliding it back before they enter the property and hide behind bushes waiting for Botha.

As Botha is about to park the Opel Corsa, they run at him and shoot, rifling through his pockets, grabbing a cellphone and car keys as he lies bleeding on the ground.

While one of the gunmen is seen starting the car, the other charges at Ronel Botha before running back to open the driveway gate so that his accomplice can drive off.

They then fled empty handed.

Police said no arrests had been made in connection with Botha's shooting.

"The investigation is at a sensitive stage. Investigators are trying to link those behind the attack to other recent attacks which have happened across Pretoria," he said.