A plucky farmwife with a hunting rifle fought off four attackers holding up her husband on Monday, wounding one in the chest, police said

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From: “Adrian Louw”
Date: Fri Jul 12, 2002 4:00 am
Subject: Farmers wife averts tragedy.

Tuesdays Beeld front page had a big picture of the wannabe President
of a United States of Africa, Gadaffi, showing us a two fingered V for
victory.

If you did not turn away in horror, you may have seen the banner
headline above this nauseating picture, had no relation to the
picture.

It read “Boervrou skiet booswig” or in English, “Farmers wife shoots
bandit”

It is a classic story of a split second decision of a farmers wife, to
protect her family from a situation which she correctly summed up in
the
seconds of crisis available to her to be certainly life threatening.

I am pasting the scanned article into this email. For those who don’t
understand Afrikaans I will try to give you the gist of the story in
English.

A group of five armed robbers presumably from Zimbabwe arrive at a
farm
in North West province. One, suspected to be female remains at their
car
while four enter the farm. First they approached the father in law and
asked for petrol. He replied that they did not have petrol, only
diesel
on the farm. They left and returned again, getting the same answer
from
the father in law who then left the scene to go to the lands. They
came
upon the womans’ husband and produced firearms, demanding money from
him. He said that he would have to look in the house. The first thing
that the woman knew about the threat, was when she saw the group of
four, entering her house with her husband being threatened with a gun
to
his head. She realised that her handgun was out of reach in her
bedroom,
but she had no option but to take immediate action or else her entire
family would most likely add to the statistics of murdered farmers
very
soon. She had a loaded .270 hunting rifle close to hand (I suspect
this
was a very wise precaution in place for just such a contingency) She
took the rifle and opened fire, mortally wounding one of the gang. In
panic, the gang retreated, firing their handguns but not hitting
anyone.
They drove away in their car which skidded and overturned some
distance
away. The gang left their injured comrade at the scene and fled on
foot.
He died soon after in hospital from a severe wound in the chest. Two
suspects pretending to be looking after cattle were subsequently
arrested after an intensive follow up operation.

Obviously the farmers wife is a hero and I hope to see our womens’
magazines take this sensational story of her amazing courage and
fortitude out to the public. There is another hidden hero though. Who
had the foresight to provide the loaded rifle? Why did the children
not
take the rifle and misuse it, perhaps to play cowboys and crooks? I
strongly suspect that someone must have gone to some great lengths to
ensure that the whole family was educated and aware of all the safety
aspects as well as establish contingency plans to avoid becoming
victims
of the whole scale slaughter of farmers in our country. That person is
also an unsung hero in this story. Villain? There are also hidden
villain in this story. Our legislators most certainly have laws in
place
that would incarcerate the heroes of this story for many years should
they be enforced for the various laws broken to provide the
contingency
plan. GFSA is the greatest hidden villain of the piece, when you
realise
that this farmers wife would have had absolutely no access to any
weapon
sufficient to deal with this situation under the crime friendly GFSA’s
hell bent programme for civilian disarmament.

Yes Sheena! You and your cronies with your deadly propaganda, aid and
abet these murders! Is it worth those bloodstained pieces of silver?

Here follows the original article:

From the Beeld Tuesday, 9th July 2002 www.beeld.com

Boervrou skiet booswig

“Ek wou net my man en seuns beskerm”

Retha Fourie

Platjan. – ‘n Jong boervrou van ‘n plaas in Limpopo (Noordelike
Provinsie) aan die Botswana-grens het een van vyf vermeende
plaasaanvallers noodlottig gewond toe sy met’n jag-geweer op ‘n groep
mans losgebrand het wat haar man met wapens aangehou het.

Die aanvallers was vermoedelik almal Zimbabwi?rs.
Mev. Marie van Tonder (31) van die plaas Platjan naby die
Platjan-grenspos s? al waaraan sy gedink het toe sy die .270-geweer
gegryp het, was om haar man en twee seuns te beskerm.
Supt. Tollie Vreugdenburg van die polisie in die Bosveldstreek s? vier
mans het kort na 08:00 gister-oggend op die Van Tonders se plaas
aangekom. Hulle was te voet.
Hul motor het glo ‘n ent verder langs die pad ge-staan. ‘n Vyfde
persoon, vermoedelik ‘n vrou, het glo by die motor gewag.

Die vier mans het haar skoonpa, mnr. Koos van Tonder (68), om petrol
gevra. Hy het ges? daar is net diesel op die plaas.

Die mans het die plaas verlaat, maar het ‘n ruk later teruggekeer.

Mnr. Van Tonder het weer aan hulle ges? hy het nie petrol nie, waarop
hy
na die landerye is.

Die vier het sy seun, mnr. Christo van Tonder (32), in ‘n buitegebou
aangetref, ‘n pistool teen sy kop gedruk en geld ge?is.

Van Tonder jr. het ges? hy het nie geld nie, maar het ges? hy sal in
die
huis gaan kyk.

Die mans het toe glo aan hom ges? indien hy nie aan hulle geld gee
nie,
gaan hulle al die vroue in die huis verkrag.

Hulle is toe met hom die huis in.

Mev. Van Tonder s? toe sy sien die mans, wat almal gewapen was, staan
met ‘n pistool teen haar man se kop in die voorhuis, het sy
instinktief
gereageer.

“Ek het besef daar is nie tyd om my pistool in die kamer te gaan haal
nie en het die naaste geweer gegryp. My seuns het die kombuis
ingehardloop gekom om te kom kyk wat aangaan,” het sy ges?.

Sy het hulle aanges? om weg te bly uit die kombuis, waarna sy op die
vier mans geskiet het.
Die mans het daarna met pistole op die egpaar losgebrand en op die
vlug
geslaan.
Nie een van die Van Tonders is gewond nie, maar minstens een van die
verdagtes is swaar gewond.
Vreugdenburg s? die vier het met hul gewonde makker gevlug.
Die vyfde persoon het hulle daarna in die motor opgelaai en weggejaag
in
die rigting van Swartwater.
Sowat 10 km verder het die motor op die grondpad gegly en omgeslaan.
Vier van die aanvallers het te voet gevlug en hul gewonde makker by
die
wrak gelaat.
Hy het gistermiddag aan ‘n skietwond in sy bolyf beswyk.
Lede van die polisie, kommando en ‘n lugmaghelikopter het in die ruie
veld na die vier gesoek en later ‘n verdagte by In brug oor die
Mogalakwenarivier gekry.
‘n Vrou en ‘n man wat voorgegee het dat by beeste oppas, is ook later
aangekeer.
mfourie2@b…

From the Beeld Tuesday, 9th July 2002 www.beeld.com

P.S. I have not seen or heard of this incident being reported in any
other newsapaper or News media. Need we wonder why not?