A Borrowdale man, Ross Terrence Leaper, who unleashed 11 rounds of gunfire at police officers trying to arrest him for assaulting his neighbours, has been denied bail by a Harare magistrate.
Magistrate Mr Tapiwa Kuhudzai ruled that Leaper posed a grave danger to both law enforcement and the public, making him unsuitable for release.
“When I went through the State outline, I could not believe this could happen in real life — it sounded like a movie,” Mr Kuhudzai said. “He fired 11 shots with the intention of killing police officers. Such conduct is unprecedented and cannot be ignored.”
The court heard that Leaper’s violent spree began on August 20, when he allegedly stormed into his neighbour Ashleigh Smith’s home in a drunken rage. After being denied entry, he turned violent, prompting Smith’s daughter to call her father, John Du Rand.
On arrival, Du Rand found Leaper shirtless, armed with a hunting knife, and behaving erratically. Leaper stabbed Du Rand in the hand and eye before Du Rand and his friend Brandon Ward managed to wrestle him to the ground.
A security reaction team from J and P Security handcuffed Leaper and reported the matter to the police. However, he escaped back to his house, where he was later found in his kitchen attempting to cut off the handcuffs using a grinder. In the process, he accidentally shot himself in the arm.
When police and security officers confronted him, Leaper reportedly dashed to his bedroom, grabbed a firearm and charged at them. The officers and guards were forced to flee, abandoning their Mahindra security vehicle as Leaper opened fire.
He discharged 11 bullets into the vehicle — five through the bonnet, three through the windscreen, one at the driver’s side window, and two through the rear windscreen.
The gunfire sent shockwaves through Borrowdale, with residents scrambling for cover as the quiet suburb descended into chaos.
Police investigations later revealed that Leaper had turned his home into an illegal private armoury. The stash, recklessly hidden under his bed instead of being secured in a gun cabinet, included:
A .22 rifle
A 12-bore shotgun
A Winchester rifle
A Ruger rifle
A CZ pistol
Two air rifles
Authorities described Leaper as a “ticking time bomb”, accusing him of endangering the community and attempting to kill police officers.
Mr Kuhudzai stressed that releasing Leaper on bail would jeopardize public safety, highlighting the seriousness of his offences.
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