Farmer shot dead March 21 2010 at 11:10AM A 60-year-old North West farmer has been shot dead on his farm near Brits, according to Sunday's Rapport newspaper. Koos van Staden was shot through the door of his bedroom while he was trying to prevent his assailants from entering the room and after he had told his wife Heleen to get his gun, around 12.30am on Saturday morning. They had been woken up by the alarm. Van Staden, a vegetable farmer in the Kleinfontein district, was declared dead on arrival at a local hospital. His wife was unhurt. One of the couple's dogs had been poisoned, but the second survived. Nothing was stolen from the house and there were no signs of forced entry. No arrests had been made. - Sapa Source:IOL ( http://tinyurl.com/yck49wd )