Copping a few bullets 'is part of the job'

By Lesego Masemola

Being a police official is a calling, and taking a few bullets in the line of duty is part of the job, said Pretoria police official Constable Christo von Mollendorf on Monday.

Von Mollendorf is nursing a heavily bruised arm at the Eugene Marais Hospital after he was shot twice.

Both he and metro police Superintendent Leon Lessing were shot and wounded when they tried to calm a domestic violence situation.

It was the first time in his nine years of service in the SAPS that Von Mollendorf, a member of the Hercules crime prevention unit, was shot.

In the early hours of Saturday morning, Von Mollendorf and his team received a call for help and responded immediately.

They went to the house in Pretoria Gardens where the suspect said he was going to go to "shoot people".

When they got to the scene, the man had not arrived yet.

When he did arrive, police were already waiting for him.

Lessing, who is known to the people involved, then tried to persuade the gunman to surrender and an argument broke out. Shooting began and Lessing was badly hurt.

Meanwhile in Lessing's car, parked across the street near the scene, his wife and son watched in horror as the shooting started.

The son ran for cover near a police car but ran back after realising that his father had been shot.

Von Mollendorf, a father of two, ran after him, shielding him and was then shot in the arm twice.

"Lessing's son ran to his father's car after he got shot from where we stood with him. He was frightened that his father had been shot.

"I ran after him during the shootout between the police and the gunman and the two bullets hit my arm instead of him," he said.

He said it was an honour to shield the boy even though he got injured in the process.

"Being a policeman is not just a job to me, it is a calling.

When I got shot, I did not even feel it until I saw blood dripping on my arm. Whatever situation I am in, I took an oath... getting shot is part of the service."

Meanwhile, Lessing is in a stable condition in the intensive care unit at the same hospital.

Police spokesperson Tessa Jansen said Lessing was seriously injured and was shot in the chest, buttocks and leg.

Hospital spokesperson Amber Brown said Lessing was in a stable condition and recovering well.

The suspect is due to appear in court soon.

• This article was originally published on page 4 of The Pretoria News on August 26, 2008