Survived: Paul Zimmerman survived attack by two black male gunmen due his quick reflexes

Paul Zimmerman, Pinetown businessman, survived armed attack by two black males Pinetown KZN Vanessa Zimmerman is thankful that her husband, Paul, escaped the armed robbery with his life. After the shooting Zimmerman described his situation as one of the loneliest experiences of his life. “I was shouting that I had been shot, I wasn’t bleeding profusely, but there was blood. People stopped and looked but did nothing and kept going. I had to beg a lady that was driving past to help me,” said Zimmerman. QUICK reflexes allowed a local man to avoid a shot that could have killed him during an armed robbery in Pinetown last week Friday. It was 6.15am when Paul Zimmerman, owner of Zimmerman Grinding, arrived at his workplace. He pressed the gate remote for the electronic gate well in advance so that he could drive straight into the building complex.Due to the heavy rains the day before, a thick layer of mud had covered the railing and the gate could not fully open. “I climbed out of the vehicle, locked my car and went to scrape the mud away as quickly as I could. Two men, in a matter of second, appeared behind me, and I felt them place something against my neck. “I didn’t realise that it was a gun and I lashed out and pushed them away. I dislike people in my personal space,” said Zimmerman. The two men, believed to be in their early thirties, shouted that they had a gun and demanded the keys to Zimmerman’s vehicle. He handed them his house keys and tried to reach the road to put a vehicle in between him and the two criminals. “As my luck would have it there were no cars at that specific time in the road. The man not holding the gun was the most violent of the two and he kept telling his partner to shoot me,” said Zimmerman. At the time there were dozens of people walking around the area on their way to work and the man wielding the gun attempted to keep it concealed under his brown jacket. They then demanded his cellphone, which he gave them, along with his car keys. “I had both of my hands in the air, I was completely vulnerable but the violent one of the two was intent of doing some damage and grabbed the gun from his partner and aimed it at my chest. I saw what he was doing and knocked the gun downwards,” said Zimmerman. The one shot that was fired pierced Zimmerman’s shin bone and shattered his tibia. The moment he tried to put any weight onto his leg he collapsed. The two criminals ran towards the parked car but instead of climbing in and stealing it, or taking the goods inside, they started to argue with each other and then fled the scene. After the shooting Zimmerman described his situation as one of the loneliest experiences of his life. “I was shouting that I had been shot, I wasn’t bleeding profusely, but there was blood. People stopped and looked but did nothing and kept going. I had to beg a lady that was driving past to help me,” said Zimmerman. He was then taken to Crompton Hospital. Since the shooting he has undergone surgery twice and was told he should be fully mobile within the next six months, after more surgeries and physiotherapy. http://highwaymail.co.za/174040/local-businessmans-brush-with-death/