Durban - eManzimtoti's Raymond Collyer, 43, dedicated his life to protecting others and at the weekend, died doing just that.
The former policeman and managing director of GDH Security was killed while heroically trying to fend off a gang of heavily armed men who stormed a family gathering at his Lewis Drive home, on Friday night.
His brother, Wayne, there at the time, recounted to the Daily News, the tragic ordeal.
It unfolded in just more than five minutes.
Among those at home when chaos broke out as the men burst in, were two teenagers and four children under the age of eight, Wayne said.
He was not sure how many attackers there were.
The men charged in through the kitchen, blocked off the only entrance to the lounge and started firing at random.
“We were caged in,” he said.
They had been having a family braai.
“Our brother, Grant, was visiting from Newcastle,” Wayne explained.
They had finished with the braai at 10pm and moved inside.
“The kids were still playing outside so we didn’t activate any of the external security, like the beams,” he said.
Five minutes later, Raymond, Wayne and Grant, as well as Wayne and Grant’s wives, were in the lounge when they heard a scream from the kitchen, which adjoins it.
It was Raymond’s wife, Shirley.
“My wife was sitting next to Raymond and she must have seen them in the kitchen because she screamed too,” Wayne said.
Then next thing they knew, the gunmen were upon them.
Raymond leapt into action.
“He jumped up and grabbed the first guy and he and Grant tackled him,” Wayne said.
A second assailant, armed with a knife, joined the tussle.
At some point Raymond was overpowered, and as Grant’s wife escaped with her two small children, Grant backed off.
“Raymond said to them, ‘Ngiyaxolisa’ (Zulu for ‘I’m sorry’) and they demanded keys,” Wayne said.
In the meantime, Shirley had managed to slip out and alert the neighbours, who activated their alarm.
As it went off, the men started swearing and shouting and fled with jewellery taken from Shirley and two cellphones.
Wayne and Grant raced to Raymond’s side.
At some point during the scuffle, he had been shot in the chest.
Several shots were fired, Wayne said, and he did not know how or when his brother was hit.
“We tried to stop the bleeding and apply pressure,” he said.
His voice trailed off.
Raymond remained conscious for a few moments, complaining of pain, saying he could not breathe.
“At least he died around the people he loved,” Wayne said.
He described Raymond as “someone who was successful at everything he did” and a talented sportsman – which the trophies and certificates on the walls of his home attested to.
He was a role model to his three sons, Wayne said.
“He left an impact on everyone he met,” he said. “We’ve had so many people calling us. Raymond never held a grudge and was always ready to give people second chances,” an emotional Wayne said.
“We’re all just devastated.”
Shirley was on Sunday too traumatised to speak to the press and wept quietly as loved ones passed in and out of the house, offering their condolences.
Police spokesman, Lieutenant Nqobile Gwala, said a case of murder was being investigated by eManzimtoti police.
According to police, there were four intruders.
No arrests have been made