WILGEHEUWEL – On 19 October Wilgeheuwel photographer Doneé Alexandra, her mother Sharon Yuill and two models were robbed at gunpoint in a large veld nearby Alexandra’s home close to Mozart Road.
“I have been to the veld before and discovered an old dilapidated farm house and felt that it would make a great scene for my next photo shoot,” explained Alexandra.
On the morning of the incident, Alexandra, Yuill and the models were shooting in the veld and noticed several men nearby. “While we were busy shooting, there was a group of about four men sitting something like 300 metres away from us who looked like they were minding their own business.”
Later in the afternoon they returned and saw seven men sitting nearby. Once the photo shoot was complete the four women made their way to their cars. It was then they were ambushed by two armed men.
“The man pointed a 9mm pistol at me, pushed me and started feeling my pockets. I only had cigarettes on me and that is what they took,” Yuill recounted.
The other alleged robber blocked Alexandra, took her photography equipment, took one of the model’s cellphones and demanded money from all of them. After robbing them, they moved back into the veld.
Police were contacted and they responded quickly. “They arrived in less than five minutes after calling,” explained Yuill. Yuill and Alexandra commended the police for their empathy. “They asked if we were OK. It was hailing but they insisted on running in the veld with the hope of catching the perpetrators.”
According to Yuill, the officers went to a nearby taxi rank [on Hendrik Potgieter Road] to search for the suspects.
The theft of Alexandra’s photography equipment has huge financial consequences for her, as it is her source of income. She was booked to take photos at UJ’s graduation ceremony, which she has now had to cancel.
Alexandra blames her traumatic event on the area’s owner.”If the owner could put proper fencing around his/her land and keep it clean, we would not have to deal with criminals and vagrants who use it as a hiding place.”
