A heavily armed man who terrorised residents on a Robertson farm for nine months was shot dead during an intense standoff with police on Monday, 17 August.

Cornelius van Dalen (40) died after firing scores of rounds at special task force members during a 24-hour siege at Top View farm.

Farm owner Karl Smith said the deadly confrontation began on Sunday afternoon when Van Dalen opened fire on his neighbour’s car without warning. No one was in the vehicle at the time.

Smith immediately called police. Three police vehicles were damaged when Van Dalen opened fire as officers entered the farm.

Special task force deployed

The special task force (STF) was called in and arrived later that evening. A task force member was wounded in the shoulder when Van Dalen fired hundreds of shots as police drove onto the property.

Police wanted to take a statement from the woman whose car had been shot at and seize the damaged vehicle as evidence.

Officers managed to escort the woman to her car, but Van Dalen opened fire again. The terrified woman crawled back into her flat.

“I sent her a WhatsApp telling her to switch off the flat’s lights and lie flat on the ground,” Smith said.

The task force withdrew around 02:30 on Monday morning.

Reinforcements brought in

Police flew in additional task force members to assist. Officers used drones to map the farm’s layout whilst three sharpshooters took cover in bushes around Van Dalen’s dwelling.

At around 16:00, task force members rescued two women from the farm whilst Van Dalen continuously shot at them.

About 10 minutes later, a police armoured vehicle rammed the structure from which Van Dalen was firing. He was fatally shot in the head.

Bulletproof vest and vehicle

Van Dalen had lived alone on the farm for nine months with no friends. He wore a bulletproof vest every day and drove a bulletproof vehicle.

Smith said Van Dalen had cut neighbours’ car tyres and stuck a screwdriver in one vehicle’s radiator. He regularly accused people of wanting to murder him.

“He made our lives hell,” Smith said.

Brig Novela Potelwa, senior provincial police spokesperson, confirmed the standoff began on Sunday evening and escalated into a shootout that continued until Monday evening.

“The operational response was escalated with the special task force deployed on Monday afternoon. An intense shootout followed when the armed man shot at STF members and damaged a police armoured vehicle,” Potelwa said.

“Two women in an adjacent house were then rescued. STF members tactfully gained access to the house where the 40-year-old armed man was. He was shot and died on the scene.”

Police seized an assault rifle, shotgun, two pistols, magazines, various ammunition, flags and notebooks with inscriptions. Officers from the independent police investigative directorate were called to the scene.

Investigations continue.