The robber fired three shots at Alex, one of which went through his chest. The other shots hit the kitchen cabinets. (Photo: AfriForum Centurion/ Facebook)
The Wierdabrug police in Centurion are investigating a case of attempted murder and intentional damage to property after a retired pastor was shot in the chest by a robber in the early hours of Friday morning during a house robbery in Raslouw, Centurion.
The 81-year-old Alex Wessels woke up at around 02:30 to a sound and suspected that something had fallen on the roof. Soon after, he heard his chairs being moved on the porch, suspected foul play and went to investigate.
Alex was apparently standing in the kitchen and saw three robbers standing on the porch with their sticks facing him. On the spur of the moment, he decided to make noise in an attempt to scare off the robbers. He clapped his hands, from which two of the robbers fled. However, one turned and opened fire on him.
The robber fired three shots at Alex, one of which went through his chest. The other shots hit the kitchen cabinets.
Alex first hid behind a cupboard and felt the blood running down his side before he asked his wife, Hannie, to call for help. The couple lives in an apartment on the same erf as their son Wynand.
When asked this week, Wynand said his mother called him in a hysterical state.
“I called the security company, police and ambulance. When they arrived, my father was treated immediately and the bleeding was stopped before he was taken to a hospital,” says Wynand.
According to him, it was nothing less than Divine intervention that his father survived.
“The bullet went through his chest without hitting his heart, lungs or ribs – a true miracle. The Lord preserved my father.”
Alex Wessels and his wife, Hannie. (Photo: Provided)
Wynand says the robbers gained access to the yard by cutting the electric fence. The robbers also tried to steal a battery that was in a steel box on the couple’s porch.
“We found three bullet casings at the scene as well as the robbers’ equipment which was presumably used to enter the yard. My father was presumably shot with a 9 mm pistol.”
Wynand says that although his father’s wound is healing, he is suffering emotionally.
“The shock has only just hit him. He started shaking on Sunday evening when he realized what happened. My father is very emotional after he realized things could have turned out so much worse. If that bullet had gone through his lung or heart, we held his funeral this week. This incident shook him inside.”
Alex was in the ministry for about 34 years and earlier a pastor at the Pentecostal Protestant Church in Roodepoort.
Col. Police spokesperson Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi confirmed when asked that no one has been arrested yet.
“The suspects fled the scene without taking anything. A case of attempted murder and intentional damage to property is being investigated,” Nevhuhulwi.