By the time the shooting stopped at the Engen garage near the King Phalo Airport late on Tuesday night, a man lay dead in his vehicle, the shop was in ruins and forensic officers were picking up more than 100 spent cartridges.
Police said four masked men, armed with rifles and pistols, had stormed the filling station on foot at about 11pm.
They held staff and customers at gunpoint, robbed them of their belongings, and then used explosives to blast open the store’s ATM, making off with an estimated R110,000 in cash.
Provincial police spokesperson Brigadier Nobuntu Gantana said the gang’s arrival had been sudden and violent.
“Initial reports indicate the attackers first confronted two employees who were seated in a parked vehicle outside the garage.
“They were robbed of their cellphones and forced into the shop, where they were ordered to lie on the ground,” she said.
Inside the store, the robbers took more cellphones, a laptop and other items before instructing everyone to stay down and not look at them.
Wearing gloves and balaclavas, they moved swiftly to the ATM, planting explosives which tore through the building when detonated.
The blast shattered windows, broke refrigeration units and sent water flooding through parts of the shop.
Outside, shots rang out as the gunmen fired shots indiscriminately, aimed inside and outside the premises.
“One male bystander was fatally shot in the head,” Gantana said.
Police sources said a passing motorist from a local security company had been ambushed as the ATM was being bombed.
Bullets riddled his vehicle, but he escaped towards the industrial development zone without injury.
Another car passing the garage was also hit, with a bullet hole in the radiator.
The dead man, who had been making a U-turn near the petrol station, was struck in the head by a rifle round, killing him instantly.
His identity is being withheld for now.
Police later recovered 47 spent 9mm cartridges, 57 rifle cartridges, one live 9mm round and three bullet heads from the scene.
When the Dispatch visited the garage on Wednesday morning, petrol attendants were back at work, refuelling vehicles.
The shop, however, remained closed as day staff cleared up the wreckage.
Two employees, who asked not to be named, said they were still processing the shock.
“We are shaken and worried about our colleagues who went through that shootout,” one said.
“When we arrived for our shift at 6.30am, police and forensic teams were everywhere.
“We didn’t know what had happened until we went inside.”
Another employee, with more than a decade’s service at the garage, said this was the second time it had been targeted.
“We are always vigilant at night, especially after midnight.
“It’s very quiet on the road and that makes you nervous,” he said.
The brazen nature of Tuesday night’s siege left workers and residents rattled.
A police insider said: “These guys are well-armed, well-organised and don’t hesitate to shoot.
“They fired at anyone in the area — motorists, bystanders, it didn’t matter.”
For now, the robbers remain at large.
The police have opened cases of murder, two counts of armed robbery, ATM bombing, a contravention of the Explosives Act and theft.
Gantana urged anyone with information to come forward.
“We are appealing to the public to assist us in identifying and tracing these dangerous criminals,” she said.
Staff at the Engen garage said Tuesday night’s events had left a mark.
“We’ve seen crime before,” one employee said, “but nothing like this.”
Investigators said the attack might be linked to similar robberies in Qonce and Peddie in recent months.
In both those cases, gangs robbed staff at gunpoint before blasting open ATMs with explosives.
Police say the modus operandi, approaching a service station on foot, targeting the ATM inside the store, using explosives and firing on anyone nearby, matched the East London attack.
In July, the Engen Buffalo River 1-Stop in Qonce was robbed.
Staff there were held hostage by balaclava-clad men who bombed the ATM and escaped with an undisclosed sum.
A worker was also robbed of personal cash.
Gantana said that in that attack: “The armed suspects forced the security guard and a bakery employee who was taking a break to return to the shop.
“They ordered all staff members to lie down before demanding access to the cash registers.
“When the employee explained that she could not open the tills as she worked in a different department, the suspects detonated explosives at the ATM inside the premises.”
Daily Dispatch
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