Durban - A Reservoir Hills family came under attack from robbers while the local Sydenham police station was being decontaminated for Covid-19 on Monday.
Five men held up two homes on Karley Road in three days, apparently wearing the same clothes in both incidents as seen on CCTV footage.
In Monday’s robbery a 23-year-old man was stabbed in his back. A relative, who declined to be named, said the robbers had climbed over the fence and some had knives and a gun.
The mother was washing clothes outside when they confronted her and forced her into the house. When she screamed, her son came out of the room and was stabbed during a scuffle with the robbers. He suffered a punctured lung and is recovering in hospital.
The relative said the men ransacked the house. The relative was disappointed with the police response and their lack of interest in catching the robbers.
Police spokesperson Captain Ngobile Gwala said the robbery occurred at 8.40am.
“Five suspects, three armed with firearms, entered the house. They took three cellphones and electronic goods. The complainant’s son was heard screaming from one of the rooms. He was found covered with blood,” Gwala said.
On Friday, a social worker living next door and her family were robbed apparently by the same gang. She said her sister was exercising in the garage when the men walked in and took her phone. They forced her into the house. Five family members were robbed of their phones. The woman said the incident left her traumatised.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Jay Naicker said three police officers from the detective branch at Sydenham tested positive over the weekend. The decontamination was done at both the police station and the detective branch yesterday. The station is expected to be opened today.
Inkosi Armed Response director Rodney Moodley said they searched the bushes and greenbelt but the robbers made their getaway by crossing over the Umgeni River. Moodley said they arrested two men who tried to break into a home on Dunkeld Road on Sunday night. He said the men pretended to be debt collectors.
Reservoir Hills Community Policing Sector spokesperson Ray Jeawon said there has been a spike in home invasions ever since lockdown stage 3 began.
“According to residents, there are fewer patrols in the area. Police resources are strained. We advised them to get more resources from higher authorities,” Jeawon said.