PEP Stores Birchleigh North was robbed by four armed men of almost R17 000 and cell phones on Sunday.
The incident happened at 1pm when the shop was about to close and the men were carrying 9mm silver pistols.
Annelie Fourie, area manager for Pep Stores, said R16 900 was stolen from the shop and the suspects also demanded cell phones that were on display.
“They came in as the manager was closing the door. They pushed the gun in his back and as he turned around to go back into the shop, the robber knocked him over the head with the gun. There were about eight customers in the shop at the time.
“The robbers instructed them to lie down at the back of the shop. Two of the men demanded cash from the safe in the office, cleared out the tills and demanded the cell phones on display,” Fourie said.
Within 10 minutes, the men had left. After the incident, centre security was immediately called and then the police.
According to an eyewitness the police only arrived 20 minutes after the incident had happened. The witness, who asked not to be named, said they also stole a white Isuzu bakkie and used it as a getaway car.
Birchleigh North resident, Juan du Toit, who was also at the shopping centre when the crime happened, feels it is no longer safe to shop at the centre following the incident, especially because no security was around at the time.
“The security was nowhere to be found and the police station, which is less than 1km away, did not know where Pep Stores was. It is so unsafe to shop there since there seems to be no security and the police don’t even know where places are. This has caused residents to feel unsafe in their own neighbourhood,” Du Toit said.
Fourie confirmed this was not the first time the shop was robbed. The first robbery was on August 11, after 10 years of running the shop with no such incidents.
Capt Lesibana Molokomme, spokesman for Norkem Park SAPS, confirmed that a case of business robbery had been opened on Sunday and that no arrest had yet been made.
Investigations are underway and anyone with information is requested to call the station on 011-391-1814 or the crime hotline on 08600 10111.
