Durban - The father of a Pinetown nursery school teacher who took flak on social media for closing the driveway gates during a robbery while holding her son, hit back at critics saying his daughter was a heroine.
On Saturday night his 28-year-old daughter and her two friends had a social gathering at his Pinetown home. The family and friends did not want to be named because of concerns for their safety.
While the guests were leaving, three men, one carrying an R-5 rifle, attempted to get on to the property but the teacher kept closing the driveway gate by hand throughout their various attempts.
The father said the guests, couples with two toddlers each, were leaving in their cars, a Renault and BMW, with the toddlers strapped into their car seats. The gang pounced while the BMW was reversing out.
The teacher, who was holding her two-year-old son, was standing near the driveway gates. “The driver of the BMW drove back into the yard and slammed into my garage door. They began screaming to alert the others.
“My daughter had pushed the gate closed, disturbing the robbers. She was concerned about the safety of her friends and their children. Had she not done that, they would have hijacked the cars and taken the kids with them,” he said.
One of the guests got out of the Renault when he saw the gate being closed and attempted to lock it with a padlock and chain, but one of robbers had opened the gate and got into the yard, running towards the man and his family in the Renault.
“It’s a miracle they all came out alive. There was lots of drama. The robber shot over the Renault driver’s head. He fled towards his car where his wife and kids were. One robber grabbed both the couple’s cellphones. The Renault driver grappled with the robber while his wife frantically tried to unbuckle the kids and get to safety.”
Throughout the ordeal, the teacher remained at the gate, closing it each time that the two other robbers tried to get in.
Meanwhile, the couple in the BMW unbuckled their children and pulled them out. They then got out of the car and crawled into the garage.
“Once they were safe, my daughter ran into the house. It was an act of bravery,” her dad said.
The robber with the rifle can be seen in CCTV footage standing at the gate and firing shots in the air.
“We managed to find a few bullet cartridges and a hat belonging to a robber. When I saw the footage, it was frightening. It was a 50/50 call that my daughter made. It is easy to make comments when you were not in that situation. It has left us in a state of fear,” he said.
CCTV footage was circulated on social media with some commending the woman’s bravery and others criticising her for fighting back with her child in hand.
Police spokesperson Colonel Thembeka Mbele said six shots were fired into the air and two cellphones were taken. A case of robbery was opened at Pinetown police station.