Police Warn violent house robberies on the Rise AGAIN
A bunch of violent house robberies have been hitting Witbank lately, and have turned deadly!
Recent violent house robberies have sparked serious worries about how safe residential neighborhoods actually are. Incidents in Hoëveld Park, Tasbet Park and Klarinet have left residents injured, shaken up, and tragically, some died.
According to the Police, these recent break-ins are happening all over, which means the criminals aren’t sticking to one neighborhood—they’re going after homes throughout the city.
Hoëveld Park robbery takes two lives
One of the worst incidents went down on 5 September when a house robbery in Hoëveld Park ended with Fransie and Dirkie Steenkamp dead. Based on what the family shared, the suspects messed with the gate motor to get in, then snuck through a back door. Once they were inside, they grabbed stuff like a TV and guns from a safe. When they realized other people were home, things got violent—they started shooting and killed one brother. The other brother took multiple shots to the stomach and legs and got rushed to the hospital for surgery.
He seemed to be getting better at first, but five days later unfortunately passed away from complications.
A few days after the robbery, one of the stolen guns and car keys from the attack turned up in an open field on Mona Street in Model Park. They also found cartridges lying around. Police are looking into the house robbery, murder, and attempted murder.
A separate incident, a family in Tasbet Park
Two suspects broke into their place early on 13 September. Police say the people inside got confronted in their bedroom around 02:30 in the morning. One victim was tied up with cable ties and forced to use their phone’s banking app while the suspects demanded cash. The homeowner was beaten up after the robbers realized there wasn’t much cash in the account. The robbers then looked around the house for a gun before taking a TV, phones, household stuff, and a car. The victims managed to break free once the robbers took off and later got help from their neighbors. No one had been arrested by the time this was published.
Klarinet resident shot during robbery
In Klarinet Ext. 7, a resident ended up in the hospital after getting shot during a home robbery on 31 August. According to police, two masked intruders got into the home and pointed a gun at a woman while asking for money. The intruders grabbed cellphones and other stuff before making their get-away. Once the robbers were leaving, they ran into the woman’s brother, took his cellphone, shot him in the leg, and took off. The injured brother was taken to the hospital. Police opened a case for house robbery and attempted murder.
Residents on edge
These incidents are happening while residents and community safety groups are getting more worried about what looks like more home robberies happening in parts of eMalahleni.
Community alerts have told residents in places like Duvha Park and Tasbet Park to stay alert after reports of robbers going after TVs, electronics, phones, guns, and other valuable household items.
There’s also been word that robbers are using different ways to get into homes before robbing people while they’re inside.
Police urge vigilance
SAPS spokesperson Warrant Officer David Ratau said police have spotted cases all over Witbank and aren’t seeing house robberies stuck in just one spot.
Ratau said, ‘residents must be vigilant and make sure their homes are secured. If you become a victim of a house robbery, cooperate to avoid endangering your life. Property can be replaced, but lives cannot.’
The police are looking into all these house robberies
Got info that could crack these cases? Contact Witbank SAPS at 079 891 5570, or call Crime Stop on 08600 10111