Cape Town – The Cape Town school community has been placed on high alert following a hijacking outside Habibia Primary School in Rylands in which the suspect drove off with a learner.
However, the brave 10-year-old boy, who was in the front passenger seat, jumped out of the moving car, injuring his arm.
Speaking to the Daily Voice, the boy’s grandmother says the suspect had noticed the Toyota RunX idling with no one behind the wheel. The vehicle was parked outside the school on Monday afternoon.
“My son was fetching his two kids and because his car has a problem, he decided to not switch it off,” explains the grandmother.
“The 10-year-old came out of school at 2.30pm and the other one was going to be out 10 minutes later.
“And while the boy was sitting in the car, a man jumped in and then drove away with him. He jumped out of the car and his arm was hurt.”
The shocked grandma says the incident has left everyone traumatised.
“My grandson had a nightmare and said he saw the thief; he has left all of us shaken.
“And this also made us start warning people to not leave children unattended.”
After the incident, the school issued a letter cautioning parents about the incident.
It read: “Please be advised that at 2.50pm today, a hijacking occurred outside our school. One of our parents’ vehicles was stolen while the learner was still in the car.
’’Alhamdulillah the learner is safe. SAPS was contacted immediately and the school followed the WCED protocol.”
The car was recovered on Monday evening in Hanover Park.
“We received a call around 6pm informing us that it was abandoned near Crystal Primary in Hanover Park,” says the ouma.
“He (hijacker) had taken everything out, including my grandson’s cellphone, school bag and a pram.
“The car has been taken to Stikland to get evidence.”
Police spokesperson Warrant Officer Joseph Swartbooi says no arrests have been made yet.
“We can confirm that a theft of a motor vehicle case was registered yesterday afternoon after a vehicle was taken from the driver in Rylands,” he says.
Daily Voice