Survives: Norman Hill, 73, attacked and stabbed in his East London home: shoots, injures one black male knifeman
Brave granddad fights off two young robbers Journalist Mamela Gowa
August 13, 2014 -- Stabbed, the white victim still manages to shoot one black male attacker.
A 73-yo East London grandfather bravely fought off two armed attackers a third of his age, shooting and wounding one in the process
Norman Hill of Greenfields was confronted by two men who forced their way into his house just after 8am while he was at home alone.
FEISTY: Norman Hill explains how he shot one of the two intruders who broke into his house and stabbed him in the hand during the struggle Picture: STEPHANIE LLOYD
Hill said the youths – whom he estimated to be in their 20s – opened the security gate at his kitchen door with a bolt cutter.On hearing the noise he went to investigate.“I asked who the hell was there but no one answered. When I got to the the door they did not even run away – they managed to cut the security gate and overpowered me after I smashed the gate against them,” he said.
The men demanded he hand over money and valuables.Hill – who lives in the house with his daughter and grandchild – said he wrestled with them all the way to his bedroom.
“They threatened to kill me by stabbing me,” he said. “One of them had a big knife but I kept fighting on until they hit me.”
He said they pushed him down onto the bed with such force that it broke. The heart patient said by this time he was exhausted from the struggle and the robbers started rummaging through his drawers and wardrobe, taking a plastic container with cosmetics and his binoculars.
He said they kept demanding he hand over a laptop “as if they knew there was a laptop” but he said he didn’t own one.
THEY KNEW THERE WAS A LAPTOP?
“They searched me and when they saw my car keys they threatened to take my car too but I had no intentions of giving up.” Thinking quickly, the elderly man told the men the valuables they were looking for were located in another room.
When they left him unattended Hill managed to open his safe and took out his pistol. He said one of the men rushed back into the room threatening to kill him.“I shot at him aiming at his shoulder and hit him. We started to wrestle soon after that, now fighting over my pistol.“Fighting for my life kept me going and I am actually glad that our strengths matched. I shot three more times; every time I felt like the gun was in line with his body but I kept on missing him until I fired the fifth shot and hit him in the stomach.”
The attacker dropped his knife and fled, leaving Hill with stab wounds to his hand and bruises on his body.The second suspect fled after Denley Boshoff – who rents a garden cottage from Hill – confronted the man on hearing the commotion from the main house.Despite suffering two gunshot wounds, the man who stabbed Hill escaped. Two cellphones were reported missing.“The police got here about 15 minutes after the incident.“They had all the relevant units attending to the scene. They gave me excellent service as they were very friendly, understanding and sympathetic.”
Police spokeswoman Warrant Officer Hazel Mqala confirmed the incident and said police were investigating a case of house robbery. “He was a true hero to defend himself like that and fight against youngsters,” she said.
“No arrests have been made yet, the suspects are both still at large and we are calling on anyone who could have information to contact the East London police because one of the suspects is out there wounded.” —
http://www.dispatchlive.co.za/news/brave-granddad-fights-off-two-young-robbers/
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