The increase of home invasions in the Trenance Park area has raised concern among residents who are calling out for protection against these brazen criminals.
This comes after three men armed with knives stabbed a 72-year-old man and threatened his 60-year-old wife during an attempted home invasion on Maple Drive, Trenance Park, on Saturday, 13 May.
Following the traumatising incident, Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA) received a call for assistance and dispatched officers and medics to the scene. RUSA spokesperson, Prem Balram, said on arrival, the officers discovered the elderly male seated on a chair in the yard.
He said: “The male victim sustained a stab wound to his back and right hand. First aid was provided by a neighbour prior to the arrival of emergency services. It was established that three men entered the yard and attacked the elderly male who was preparing a meal on an outside fire. His wife was in the residence at the time. As she exited the house, she noticed the three suspects attacking her husband. Armed with a kitchen knife, the woman advanced towards the robbers. One of the men forced her to the ground before they grabbed a Nokia cellphone and fled through a dense bush opposite their home. The female was not injured.”
Balram added that the male victim was provided further medical assistance on scene and thereafter transported to hospital by ambulance.
Speaking to the Tongaat and Verulam Tabloid, an elderly resident of Trenance Park, Lallie Naidu, said that home invasions have become more frequent in the area and that the criminals are mainly targeting seniors who are home alone and young families.
She said: “These criminals are lurking on the roads, they watch who is at home and what they are doing. I have realised that they are mainly looking at elderly people as they think it will be easier to rob them or try and harm them. This is extremely scary as we are elderly and we have no safety net as many of us live alone. We have dogs for protection but these criminals don’t care and they are shooting, stabbing and poisoning the dogs just to take advantage of the situation. We are living in fear of what might happen and this is wrong.”
Naidu added that as of late there have been many men, which she called “para’s, standing in front of their yards and calling out for no reason.
She said: “On many occasions para’s come to the yard and call, they make stupid excuses just to see who comes out and how many people are in the yard at the time. They are really doing everything to scope out the community and with crime increasing I hope that the police have solutions. It is now winter and it gets very dark early and this is worrisome because the criminals will start to use this as an advantage.”
Verulam SAPS Communications Officer, Constable Bongiwe Ngcobo, said the the increase of home invasions has become alarming and that the police are doing their best to curb this scourge.
She said; “There has been a number of reported cases where communities are still being victims of crime, however the SAPS is doing their best to serve and protect the inhabitants of this country according to section 205 of the constitution. We also rely on the members of the community to work with us to help us create a safe environment for all.”
Cst Ngcobo said they also appreciate the work that is being done by the community policing forums who are helping to keep residents safe by patrolling the local areas.
“We would like to thank the CPFs as they have been assisting us to reduce crime in Verulam, especially the criminal activity that is taking place during the night because they are there patrolling the streets,” she added.
