A paramedic is lucky to be alive after his personal bulletproof vest saved him from a bullet to the stomach.
The ambulance driver’s near-death experience happened in Beacon Valley, Mitchells Plain, in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
Police spokesperson Colonel André Traut says: "The 46-year-old emergency worker reported that while taking a patient to hospital, he was at the corner of Imperial [Street] and Palestrina Road, when a man crossing the road pulled out a firearm, pointed and fired a shot through the driver’s side window.”
Traut said the ambulance was being escorted by cops at the time.
The unknown suspect managed to flee the scene. No persons have been arrested.
EMS spokesperson, Deanna Bessick, says: “Fortunately, he was wearing a bulletproof vest which saved his life.”
He suffered no injuries besides the bruising that was left behind where the bullet hit.
This traumatic incident was not the first for the paramedic, who was previously stabbed in the back with a knife in the same area.
He wore a bulletproof vest that time as well.
Bessick added: “The paramedic is severely traumatised and has been sent for counselling."
She said the paramedic decided to get himself a bulletproof vest following a spate of attacks on paramedics attending to patients.
Cape Town has a number of red zone areas where paramedics do not enter without a police escort.
Meanwhile, two other paramedics were attacked over the weekend.
Both incidents took place in Philippi and one of the incidents involved EMS officials being threatened with a gun.
Bessick says on Friday, 4 December, two male officials responded to a call close to Philippi Police Station before 8pm.
The EMS workers were unable to find a patient in the road, as per the injury report that was logged.
They then decided to head back to the EMS base.
As they drove off, they heard two gunshots, after which two suspects approaching the ambulance.
One of the suspects stood in front of the vehicle with a gun.
The driver managed to quickly drive away from the scene and headed back to the base.
TARGET: EMS vehicle shot at