All hell broke loose in a Parow guesthouse after armed robbers burst in, battered two staff to a bloody pulp and then engaged in a shootout with police and a security officer.
A female employee had serious facial wounds, but is in a stable condition in a northern suburbs hospital.
And a robber with a bullet wound is in a serious but stable condition at Tygerberg Hospital, under armed guard.
Parow police spokesperson Captain Marie Louw said the woman and a colleague were watching TV in a lounge at the Gate House of Fleet guesthouse in Namesia Street, Plattekloof, between 6.30pm and 7pm when two men charged in.
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'Two men charged in' One produced a gun, threatened the woman and grabbed her cellphone.
The other intruder threatened and lashed out at the male colleague, demanding to know where the safe was.
Louw said one of the men had repeatedly hit the woman in the face.
Both workers were dragged around the house from room to room, until one of the men found the safe and its key, but the safe was empty.
Both employees were continually beaten and pistol-whipped until their faces were a bloodied mess.
'The men had repeatedly hit the woman in the face' A third man entered and joined in the beatings.
Louw said: "There was blood everywhere, in the lounge and the rooms."
Two guests arrived, heard the commotion, and ran to neighbours, who raised the alarm.
An armed security response officer arrived, and a shoot-out erupted between him and the trio.The police arrived and supported the security officer in the fierce shoot-out.
One robber was shot and wounded, and a second attacker attempted to flee in a getaway vehicle but discovered, too late, that the guesthouse was in a cul-de-sac. He was arrested.
The third man ran away.
Louw said a heavy-calibre handgun recovered had been used in an armed robbery at a Bellville South service station last week.
Police were investigating charges of armed robbery, assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm and burglary, she said.
People with information about the incident are asked to phone the investigating officer, Detective-Inspector Bern Rautenbach, at the serious violent crimes unit at
021 935 9600 or 084 677 9788.
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This article was originally published on page 6 of Cape Argus on January 09, 2004
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