Chaos reigned at Mall@Reds in Centurion when a gang of five armed men robbed a jewellery store on Monday night.
The husband of an employee of Heide-Marie Jewellers was injured when shots were fired.
Orange Fox security spokesperson Vanessa Jacobs said a man and a woman first entered the store, pretending to be a couple.
They were followed by two more men, who pushed the store’s security guard inside.
“One of the mall’s other security guards noticed this and responded. He was also forced into the store.
“Another man entered the store and the group produced three handguns and two AK47 assault rifles,” said Jacobs.
They looted the store before setting off.
An employee’s husband, who was in the store at the time, chased after the group. One of the fleeing men fired a shot into the ground in a bid to scare him off.
“He responded by throwing a decorative sword he grabbed from the store at one of the suspects. They then fired another shot at him. It ricocheted off the floor and hit him in the toe,” said Jacobs.
The gang fled with a stash of jewellery.
Shoppers, fearing for their lives as they heard the shots and saw the men running, hid in stores and restaurants as they waited for the danger to pass.
One of them, Nelisiwe Somhlahlo said: “It was the scariest experience of my life.”
Another shopper, Chante Engelbrecht, said on Facebook that she hid in one of the stores.
Engelbrecht said she was still in shock on Tuesday morning.
Wierdabrug police spokesperson Captain Agnes Huma said an armed robbery docket had been opened.
“It is confirmed that a person in the store was shot in the toe,” said Huma.
This is the second robbery within about three months at the jewellery shop.
On 7 November 2015, the store was robbed by five armed men. A shootout ensued and an ADT response officer was wounded. One of the men was apprehended by police. The jewellery was recovered.
Jacobs said the two robberies were not committed by the same gang.
The mall has been a target of other armed robbers and thieves in recent months.
On Thursday 11 February, a gang of armed men robbed a Vodacom shop in the mall. They fled with cellphones worth R1 million. They are yet to be apprehended.
In January, a man and two women were arrested and taken to Wierdabrug police station after they were caught using a baby pram in an attempt to smuggle stolen shoes worth R5 000 from Woolworths.
The trio had a five-month-baby inside the pram whom they denied any knowledge of.
Early in January, a man was arrested for attempting to steal a woman’s cellphone at the mall from her handbag. The man was apprehended after the woman screamed.
Mall@Reds spokesperson Lucille Seegers said the mall management would issue a statement later.
Huma urged anyone with information on the crime to call the Wierdabrug police on 012-685-0015.
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