[DJR-351]

They really picked the wrong guy to mess around with

https://www.news.com.au/finance/work...5d305b2080f3ea

The hero guard, caught on dashcam keeping his cool as robbers attacked his armoured car in a hail of bullets, has been identified as a former police sniper.

The hero guard who managed to keep his cool, despite his armoured car being attacked in a hail of bullets by two cars of gunmen, has been identified as a former police sniper.

Leo Prinsloo, 48, was caught on the vehicle’s dashcam frantically battling the two groups of robbers as they attacked his cash-in-transit truck in South Africa.

Video of the high-speed chase went viral online, with many praising the heroic actions of Mr Prinsloo and likening him to a real-life Jason Bourne.

The incident highlights the warlike daily conditions faced by security officers in the crime-ridden nation.

The two-and-a-half-minute clip, recorded on April 22 from inside the truck cabin, shows the two men, both of whom are wearing bulletproof vests, coming under attack on a busy Pretoria road.

Mr Prinsloo, who served with the South African Police Services special forces unit for 12 years, now teaches the nation’s military special forces how to shoot.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Mr Prinsloo said “there was no way” he was going to let the robbers take the vehicle.

“I cannot say much as an investigation is underway but I and my fellow guard did what was expected of us. They needed to take us out so they could take out the cargo vehicle,” he told the publication.

“But there was no way I was going to let that happen and unfortunately I did not have a chance to return fire.”

In the wild footage, Mr Prinsloo can be seen glancing in the rear view mirror moments before a black sedan pulls up alongside and series of loud bangs can be heard as a volley of bullets hits the reinforced glass of the Toyota Land Cruiser.

Mr Prinsloo immediately begins to take evasive action, manouvering through traffic to escape.

He tells his partner to grab a rifle and get ready. “Cock the gun,” he says.

As the chase continues, he warns his partner, “They’re going to shoot. They’re going to f***in shoot.”

Another hail of bullets hits the truck, stopped by the glass on the passenger side.

Mr Prinsloo then hands a phone to his partner.

“Phone Robbie, phone Josh, ask them where they are,” he says.

The truck eventually jerks to a halt. The video ends as Mr Prinsloo grabs the rifle from his partner and exits the vehicle to confront the attackers.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, a friend of Mr Prinsloo said he was unsurprised by the way the security guard had reacted.

“He had enough of being a sitting duck and decided to take the fight to the armed robbers and was not going to go down without a fight,” the friend said.

“He is an expert shot and wanted to give a little bit back.

“When they saw Leo get out with his automatic rifle in a bullet proof vest and kneeling down to take aim they decided they had had enough and gave it up and the two cars made their escape.

“You can see from the dashcam that from start to finish he hardly bats an eyelid but is constantly aware of where they are and doesn’t flinch when they open fire on him and does his job perfectly.”

The friend said Mr Prinsloo got “bored” of being attacked, describing him as a “hero”.

“You see this sort of Chuck Norris stuff all the time in the movies but this was for real and Leo took the fight to them,” he said.

Mr Prinsloo runs a shooting academy called The Edge, where he trains police officers, military and security companies in shooting and unarmed combat.

Mr Prinsloo’s friend said he had never seen the guard show any fear and he “never misses” with a gun.

Photos posted to social media showed the aftermath of the incident.

South African Police spokesman Brig Vish Naidoo on Saturday confirmed to Times Live that the incident happened on the N4 in Pretoria on April 22.

“The suspects fired several shots at the CIT vehicle in an attempt to stop it during a high-speed chase,” he said.

“The driver of the CIT vehicle managed to evade the robbers for a while but later stopped in wait for the robbers. The robbers fled without taking any money. No arrests have yet been made.”

In a statement on Facebook, security firm Fortis Pro Active Defence Solutions identified the driver as Mr Prinsloo, a former member of the SAPS Special Task Force and the head instructor of its “Lone Operator” courses.

“We have been inundated with calls and WhatsApps (regarding) this incident and the driver,” the company wrote.

“We can confirm that it is indeed Leo Prinsloo. However, Leo is currently unavailable for comments regarding the incident as it forms part of an ongoing investigation.”

A YouTube upload of the video has been viewed more than 10 million times, while one on Twitter has been viewed more than 1.5 million times.

“They couldn’t make a movie about this guy. Not one actor out there could mimic this type of bravery,” one person commented on YouTube.

One wrote, “In South Africa you don’t say ‘call the police’ you say ‘call Robbie, call Josh’ cos you know them guys gonna do more to help you than the police.”

Another added, “These guys don’t get paid nearly enough.”