No kidnapping at Crossing Centre
There was an incident earlier today at the centre, but no kidnapping occurred, as has been widely circulated.
Following widespread messages about an alleged kidnapping at Crossing Centre, the centre’s manager, Anita McGarry, spoke to Lowvelder and confirmed that there was an incident in the centre’s parking area earlier today, but stressed that there was no kidnapping.
“We are obviously dismayed that one of our shoppers has had an experience where she felt that her infant was in danger,” said McGarry.
“The safety of our shoppers is of great importance to us which is why the centre is covered by CCTV cameras and is patrolled by our dedicated Special Services Urban Deployment vehicle (manned by Hi-Tech Nelspruit) together with roaming security guards.
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“In reviewing our security footage we established that our parking area courtesy attendants were at their posts at the time, but not within eyesight of the incident as it unfolded. These attendants are not security guards; their primary function is to assist shoppers into and out of parking bays and help pack groceries into our shoppers’ cars if requested to do so.”
McGarry said the mother of the woman who was involved in the incident came to their offices very shortly after the incident occurred “and we assisted her immediately and will stay in touch with her and the family as our investigations proceed.”
Following the incident, a voice note was circulated where the woman warned others to be careful with their children as her baby was nearly the victim of abduction when a man tried to open her car door in the centre’s parking area.
McGarry said, “While we sympathise with the family we would, at the same time, like to appeal to the public to be mindful as to what messages they forward on via WhatsApp and other social media platforms. All too often these messages create a sense of panic and can hinder an investigation into an incident of this nature.” concluded McGarry.
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Hi-Tech said it could neither confirm nor deny whether the baby was in fact the target of the incident, but, like centre management, confirmed that no child was abducted.
The security company further said everyone is on the lookout for the car in question.
