By Miranda Andrew and Bhavna Sookha
Brandon Stirk's life will never be the same again. He was one of four people who were shot during Saturday night's dramatic robbery at Durban's popular St Tropez restaurant and believes he survived by playing dead when a gang of robbers "crashed" a private function.
One of the guests at a birthday celebration, Marc Joubert, died of his wounds.
And while Stirk, 35, spoke to the Daily News about his ordeal on Monday, the restaurant's owner, Steven Sturlese, said his business is struggling to cope after the tragedy.
He said waiters were now too afraid to work the night shift and that several people who had hired the venue for functions over the next few weeks had already cancelled their St Tropez bookings.
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Earlier in the day, Sturlese had spoken about his anger at the murder and shooting of his customers. He said he had considered selling the restaurant but was also "not prepared to be scared away by a bunch of crooks".
Speaking from his home in Westville, Stirk on Monday revealed how he resorted to playing dead to ensure his survival. "Everything happened so fast. I was there with my girlfriend, Angie. It was her brother Clinton's birthday that we were attending," said Stirk.
The function started at 5pm and "everything was going well".
"Later that evening, there was a commotion near the staircase so I went to see what was going on and as I got nearer, that's when I heard loud gunshots," said Stirk.
"I remember falling down the stairs and then I realised a bullet had hit me in the leg. I did not know what to do because shots were still being fired."
Stirk lay flat on the stairs and pretended to be dead. He said the robbers fired about 15 shots before running down the stairs to exit the premises.
"I think they even ran over me, but I'm not even sure because everything happened so fast," he said.
Stirk was taken to St Augustine's Hospital and has since been discharged.
"There was nothing anyone could have done that would have changed what had happened. I may never go to another party or even enter another restaurant again. We are too scared to go anywhere in public with criminals walking freely all around us," he said. He said places like restaurants were easy targets for criminals, who could walk in without anyone stopping them.
"And these criminals have no regard for human life and will kill for absolutely no reason," he said.
Birthday boy and close friend of the deceased, Clinton Zuidewind, said he would never forget this birthday.
"This will stay with me for the rest of my life and we are just mourning Marc's death right now. Marc was popular among many people and was well loved. It's unfortunate that a person of his calibre and stature had to die in this manner," said Zuidewind.
Trying to find words to express his feelings, Zuidewind said: "Unless you experience it yourself, you cannot really explain how one feels."
He said the ordeal brought back buried memories of his father, who was murdered in a similar shootout nine years ago.
"How much more must we go through in this country? What kind of environment do we live in that we can't even have a drink or meal without being attacked? What do we have to do to protect ourselves? Even at home, these criminals still find a way in," he said.
Another business owner, Vlado Sipcic of the Thunder Road Rock Diner in Florida Road, said they were also robbed at the weekend.
"It was early on Saturday morning and there were about 15 to 20 patrons. The robbers attacked the security guard outside, stealing his radio, before walking into the restaurant with a gun held at him," he said.
"They ordered all the patrons on the floor and brought the kitchen staff from the back so that they couldn't alert anyone. They stole money, cellphones and clothing."
Sipcic said everyone, including the staff, were traumatised.
Meanwhile, police say investigations are continuing.
Police spokesperson Superintendent Vincent Mdunge said people should rest assured that these robberies were isolated incidents.
"These incidents occurred in different areas and right now we cannot say that it is the work of a syndicate. However, we will investigate all possibilities," he said.
"We are viewing these incidents in a serious light. The case has been handed over to the Organised Crime Unit as it is their speciality to deal with cases of this nature."
- This article was originally published on page 1 of Daily News on May 29, 2007
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