A manager of Edleen KwikSpar, who was inside the store when six armed robbers struck on February 16, spoke to Express about this dramatic event.
“I was in the back of the shop when I heard a commotion,” he recalled. “When I saw two men behind the till I knew something was wrong.”
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According to Capt Lesibana Molokomme, spokesperson for Norkem Park SAPS, customers who were inside the store at the time of the robbery were robbed of their belongings.
According to him, an armed man entered the store at Edleen circle around 7pm. He went straight to one of the cashiers, pointed a firearm at the employee and ordered the person to hand over the money in the till.
These armed men, he said, were extremely calm. “They weren’t aggressive or in a hurry. They were too calm.”
He added that the experience was indescribable. “It felt like my heart stopped beating.”
Despite this feeling of terror, he stayed calm. “A man right in front of me had a gun, so I ran away.”
While doing so, he pressed a panic button. This was the third robbery he witnessed, of which the first two were at different shops.
According to him, MML Security swiftly arrived on the scene. “It was barely two minutes and they were there.”
A security officer who responded was attacked by the robbers and his firearm was taken. The suspects fled the scene with an undisclosed amount of money, customers’ property, the stolen firearm and cigarettes.
He said the store is going through procedures to make it safer.
Norkem Park SAPS appeals to anyone with information to contact the station on 011 391 1814/5 or 086 001 0111.
Information in this article has been altered since first published
