Tow-truck driver shot three times in Newton Park
A WELL-KNOWN Port Elizabeth towtruck driver was shot three times while waiting outside the offices of an ambulance service in Newton Park last night.
Precision Towing driver Phillip Wolfsburg, 29, is believed to be fighting for his life in hospital after the unidentified shooter opened fire on him in front of the Compsol Relay ambulance service building in Seventh Avenue.
Wolfsburg was waiting for his girlfriend, a paramedic at Compsol, at about 6.30pm when the incident occurred.
According to paramedics on the scene, he was wounded in the head, neck and upper body.
A man living across the road from the ambulance service said he saw a car drive by seconds before five shots rang out. “I was sitting on the stoep, drinking coffee, when I saw a car come by,” he said.
“I did not pay much attention, but got the fright of my life when I heard the shots.
“Boom, boom, boom! Just like that. Five shots fired very quickly,” the man, who did not want to be identified, said.
Minutes later, the police showed up.
“What is happening to the world that guys shoot at each other here in Newton Park? I was sitting outside. I could have been hit by a stray bullet,” the man said.
“What are we supposed to do nowadays? Stay permanently locked up in our houses?”
Police spokesman Captain Johan Rheeder confirmed the incident, but said details were still sketchy.
“According to witness reports, the occupants of a car that drove past opened fire on the victim’s vehicle.
“The victim was taken to hospital shortly after the incident, but we cannot disclose the name of the hospital for his safety.”
Rheeder said the motive for the shooting was unknown.
Other Precision Towing employees on the scene did not want to comment.