A Pinetown dashcam video shows a bakkie driver returning fire at alleged hijackers outside his home, in an attack said to have happened on Friday, 9 October 2026.
According to IOL, the footage went viral on social media on Thursday, 22 October 2026. It shows the driver and his daughter leaving their driveway while a boy believed to be his son stood at the gate, as a vehicle allegedly used by the hijackers passed the bakkie and stopped a short distance away.
What does the Pinetown dashcam video show?
A man got out of the vehicle and ran towards the bakkie. A source said he ran to the boy at the gate and held a gun to his head, and that a second man got out, drew a firearm and fired at the driver. The driver then drew his own firearm and shot out of his window with his hands off the steering wheel.
The bakkie rolled forward and stopped against a tree, leaving the windscreen cracked. The boy came to the side of the vehicle and pulled his sister out of the passenger seat while the driver kept shooting.
A source said a third alleged hijacker was found at a clinic, and it has been alleged that three men were killed. Police have not confirmed any deaths, or whether a case was registered at Pinetown police station.
What did the security company say about the Pinetown dashcam video?
Andreas Mathios, spokesperson for Marshall Security, called the driver a hero and said he “firstly and instinctively made sure his family was safe”. Mathios said the driver was alert and returned fire at the right time, although there was “some sort of delay in returning fire”, and that he “did everything by the book”.
Mathios said South Africa is “riddled with corruption, especially where firearms go missing”, and expressed concern about how criminals obtain guns. He said victims rarely have time to react and must make split-second decisions. Those without firearms training, he advised, should avoid eye contact, comply, hand over the vehicle and walk away with their hands visible.
What does the law say about the Pinetown dashcam shooting?
South African criminal law recognises private defence. A court asks whether the attack was unlawful and under way or imminent, whether the response was necessary to avert it, and whether the force used was reasonable in the circumstances. Each case is judged on its own facts, usually after police investigate and prosecutors decide whether to charge.
How common are hijackings in KwaZulu-Natal?
Hijackings caught on camera have surfaced in other parts of the country, including suspects recorded on dashcam after a truck hijacking in Midvaal in July 2025. In KwaZulu-Natal, an e-hailing driver was shot during a hijacking in Amaoti in November 2024.
South African Police Service figures for April to June 2026, the first quarter of the 2026/27 financial year, recorded 3 811 carjackings nationally. Gauteng accounted for 2 207 of those incidents and KwaZulu-Natal for 481.
Sources
- IOL, WATCH
- Briefly News, Gauteng ranked SA's carjacking hotspot as new SAPS data splits Mzansi
- Swisher Post, Watch: Suspects caught on dashcam after hijacking a truck in Midvaal
- Swisher Post, Amaoti e-hailing driver shot in brazen hijacking
- Andreas Mathios, spokesperson, Marshall Security
- South African Police Service quarterly crime statistics, April to June 2026
