A Cape Town man took a bullet for his family after gunmen stormed into their home and threatened to shoot them all.
|||Cape Town - A Cape Town man took a bullet for his family after gunmen stormed into their home and threatened to shoot them all.
Cedric Petersen, 49, was shot in front of his wife, daughter and two-month-old grandson inside their Delft home early Tuesday morning.
His attackers ambushed the family inside their home, demanded money and fled with Petersen’s bakkie after shooting him in the stomach around 5am .
Even after he was hit and had collapsed several times, Petersen managed to keep the brazen attackers out of his home by forcing the door shut.
Petersen, who collected scrap for a living, later died in hospital after doctors battled to save his life.
His wife of 18 years, Elizabeth Petersen, 47, says her hero husband gave his life to save theirs.
“He was a fighter, he didn’t give up once,” she said as her tears flowed.
“On our way to the hospital, I held him in my arms and he said, ‘mummy, ek gaan julle nou verlaat maar onthou net ek is lief vir jou’ (I’m going to leave you, but just remember that I love you).
“Ek het hom gese jy moet net vas hou (I told him to hold on).”
Petersen would have celebrated his 50th birthday this Saturday.
The devastated woman, who still had her husband’s dry blood on her hands after she tried to stop the bleeding, said her husband’s murder was senseless.
“Why did they have to take his life?” she asked. “They could have just taken the bakkie if that’s what they wanted.
“And it’s not like we had money to give them.”
The couple’s daughter Sadé Petersen, 19, said that when she walked into the living room one of the men was already inside the house.
“My boyfriend and I were on our way out and my dad had parked his bakkie outside for us,” she explained.
“I went into the bathroom and as I came out, I saw people in the bakkie. One of them was already standing in the doorway.
“He held a gun which was covered with a red and white cloth and demanded money.
“[The suspect] said he wanted money or else he was going to shoot all of us.”
She said her baby was in the living room when the killer fired a single shot at her father.
“When he said he was going to kill all of us, that was when my dad jumped in and the man fired a shot,” Sadé said.
“At the same time my dad and my boyfriend forced the door closed and pushed him out.
“My dad fell against the kitchen table but he got back up and pushed the door again.
Petersen collapsed again but got up for a third time to keep the front door shut.
“When my dad fell again my mom went over to help him and covered his wound because he was bleeding a lot,” the distraught daughter said.
Petersen’s sister-in-law Jeanette Castle, 44, said the suspects drove past her when she was on her way to the house.
“We thought it was (Sadé and her boyfriend) when we saw the bakkie,” she said.
“As they came closer I tried to stop them but they just continued driving. When I arrived at the house, my sister told me what happened.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Andrè Traut said the suspects were still at large.
“Police are investigating a charge of murder and theft of a motor vehicle,” Traut said.
“The two robbers entered, demanded money and then shot him in the stomach and fled with his white Nissan LDV.
“The victim was admitted to hospital where he succumbed.
“The LDV with registration number CY 30509 is still being sought,” Traut said.
* Anyone with information can call the investigating officer Detective Constable Aaron Peter on 021 953 9000.
Daily Voice