Cape Town- A Brackenfell man has told how a fellow angler was shot dead in front of him while coming to his rescue during a horrific attempted robbery on Strandfontein beach.
Alvin Allies, from Northpine, was killed instantly after being hit by a bullet in the pancreas on Sunday morning, his friend Pieter Terblanche told the Cape Times on Monday.
“He came to help me. He was running in the line of fire to come to my rescue. He could have run away but died because he wanted to help his friend,” Terblanche said.
He said he had worked with Allies since 2011 and the latter had used that specific spot, which he referred to as the Guntry, for more than 20 years.
The ordeal, at about 4am near a tidal pool, began when two “young criminals” approached Terblanche and Allies asking for petrol.
Terblanche said he referred the men to the offices of the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) but they returned minutes later, this time wanting cigarettes.
They then left again.
When they returned yet again, one of the men confronted Terblanche with a firearm while Allies went to remove the last of their fishing rods from the water.
“The second chap came with a knife and wanted to stab me but I pulled his buddy in front of me and he stabbed him. We continued to wrestle and a lot of shots went off, but they missed me,” Terblanche said.
“My friend came back from the water and knocked the other guy with the fishing rod. As (Allies) was coming to assist me he was hit by a bullet. He was running in the line of fire.”
Allies is survived by his wife, children, mother and a brother, Terblanche said.
“It is hard on them (the Allies family). It is hard on all of us, his friends and the other fishermen,” he said.
The two men fled after Allies was hit. Terblanche, who had dislocated his shoulder during the altercation, ran to the NSRI’s rescue base for help. Terblanche alleged that the police took a while to get there because they had to walk to the scene as there were no proper vehicles to drive on the beach.
“Something must be done to ensure safety on our beaches. Idiotic criminals like these can just do whatever they please,” he said.
“These places are used by a lot of people and the government must do something.”
Police spokesman Frederick van Wyk said a murder case was under investigation and they were yet to make arrests.
“We would like to urge members of the public to assist. Anyone with information can contact CrimeStop,” Van Wyk said.
In a separate incident along the same coastline, a 33-year-old man was attacked on Sunday afternoon while walking with his two-year-old son and two dogs on Sunrise Beach in Muizenberg, near Strandfontein.
Liz Meyer, of the Marine Estate Neighbourhood Watch, said police had promised to step up patrols on the beach.
Cape Times