Durban - An elderly couple - traumatised by a botched hijacking on Thursday - are recovering in hospital after their ordeal.
John and Sheila Pilling, 71 and 89, respectively, were visiting friends in Sanders Road, New Germany, when they were approached by two men demanding the vehicle, said Blue Security TV’s Andreas Mathios, who visited the couple in hospital last night.
The security company had responded to the call for assistance.
Rescue Care paramedics were also on the scene.
Their spokesperson Garrith Jamieson said Sheila had initially been taken with the vehicle, but was later located and taken to a nearby hospital.
Mathios said John had been taking Sheila’s wheelchair out of the boot when he was approached by an armed man.
“He told me that he stepped back when he was approached and somehow a struggle ensued. That’s when the shot went off.”
Pilling said there were two men who had approached him but, in the rush of the attack, he had not seen where the second man had gone.
It was initially reported the man had been shot twice, but Mathios said there had been only one shot to the man’s face.
Operations director Brian Jackson said in a statement shortly after the incident: “The hijackers shot the man in his face during the hijacking and fled in his vehicle with his wife, who is disabled, still sitting in the passenger seat."
“The victim was stabilised at the scene and transported to hospital.”
Jackson said a police task team together with security companies, neighbourhood watch groups and volunteers launched a massive search for the woman.
Mathios said the relief on John’s face after his wife had been found was palpable.
“They were reunited and you could see the love they have for each other. It was a special moment.”