Cornered housebreaker points knife at Berea residents in escape bid

Blue Security armed response officers and community members arrested several suspects in separate incidents at the weekend.
Blue Security community and media liaison officer Andreas Mathios said that in the latest incident a suspect had been seen stealing gate sensors from a resident’s property in Alamein Avenue in Woodlands at around 1pm yesterday. “One of our officers responded to the scene, tracked down the suspect who had fled the scene on foot, and arrested him. The resident decided not to open a case against the suspect,” Mathios said.
Mathios said an armed response officer who was patrolling Lancers Road in central Durban saw a suspect stabbing a victim with a broken bottle in the early hours of yesterday morning. “He intervened, arrested the suspect and called for the Durban Central SAPS to attend the scene where he handed the suspect over to the police,” Mathios said.

Mathios said a local community in Berea had turned out in their numbers to arrest a suspect who had attempted to break into a property in Charles Henwood Avenue at around 6am on Friday. “The community spotted him breaking into the property and cornered him in a basement where he ran to hide. He was armed with a knife that he pointed at residents in an unsuccessful attempt to evade arrest. He was handed over to the Mayville SAPS at the scene. No injuries were reported,” Mathios said.
Mathios commended the residents for their swift action but advised residents to be wary when approaching suspects who may be armed. “It’s important for communities to work together to fight crime and to report any suspicious activities to your local security company and the police. If you notice a housebreaking in progress at a neighbour’s property, always notify your security company and local neighbourhood watch group so you can respond to the scene together rather than going out alone to face a criminal who could be armed and dangerous,” Mathios said.