What was meant to be a routine stop at a mall in Mitchells Plain ended in death for a young security guard.
|||Cape Town - He was just 23 years old, a fresh-faced member of the SBV Services security team. School and college were behind him, and a promising career lay ahead.
But on Saturday, Jody van Harte’s life was cut short when the security guard was shot and killed while restocking an ATM at the Liberty Promenade Shopping Centre in Mitchells Plain.
On Sunday was a day of heartache as the former Oude Molen Technical High pupil’s family and friends found out about his death.
It was meant to be a routine stop for the security guard and his colleague when they went to restock an ATM at the mall.
However, the pair were held up by two unidentified gunmen as they were about to restock the machine.
Police spokesman Captain FC van Wyk said both security guards had been shot.
The attackers took the bags, containing an undisclosed amount of cash, and fled from the mall in a white Audi.
Van Harte was declared dead at the scene, and his colleague was taken to hospital. Details of the second security guard’s condition could not be established on Sunday night.
On Sunday, the young security guard’s family, friends and colleagues took to Facebook to voice their shock and sadness over his death.
“To see your car still parked outside the office just breaks my heart knowing we will never see you in it, no more hugs and smiles,” wrote Charnel Hendricks.
“Jody my friend, you will surely be missed. It’s sad when a parent should bury their child because of other people’s greed. You are in a better place now, may your soul rest in peace bro,” wrote Denero Nayger.
“Woke up this morning and it’s not a dream, you are really not here,” wrote his sister Tamryn van Harte.
At the time of going to print, Van Wyk said there had been no developments in the case.
kieran.legg@inl.co.za
Cape Argus