UPDATE: Manhunt launched for mall robbers in Centurion

Police have launched a manhunt following an armed robbery at a Centurion mall that left a woman dead on Thursday.

The Cash Crusaders at the Blu Valley mall has been closed until further notice after an employee was shot and killed during an armed robbery in the store.

Chad Bezuidenhout from Specials Ops security services said the woman was shot and wounded during the robbery but later succumbed to her injuries.

“At this stage, it is unknown how many suspects were involved but what I can confirm is that they were driving in two vehicles. ”

“Unfortunately they jumped in just after the load shedding kicked in around 09:00. The mall cameras were down when they entered, hence we can’t see them on our CCTV footage,” he said.

Bezuidenhout said the robbers used two vehicles during the robbery and not three as previously stated.

“The same vehicle that was used by the suspects was seen by one of my guards on Sunday before the drove off.”

Bezuidenhout thanked his team, police and mall staff for keeping the customers calm.

“We always have a good security system placed at the mall, it’s just unfortunate that this (robbery) happened under such circumstances (load shedding), and I think it’s time Eskom realise that they are putting people’s lives in danger,” he added.

Police spokesperson Brigadier Mathapelo Peters said a case of robbery and murder were being investigated.

Blu Valley Mall Woolworths manager Bonginkosi Mkansi told Rekord that the store closed its doors to protect customers and staff members when they heard shots fired.

“Our store is close to Cash Crusaders, so as soon as we heard gunshots, we followed protocol and took everyone into a secure place in the store,” he said.

“During the whole ordeal, mall customers were screaming and running to our shops and fortunately, our brave security officers opened the door for them to take cover.”

“Around that time we noticed that a lot of mall customers were screaming and running to our shops so our brave security opened the doors for them to take cover,” he said.

Mkansi said the store’s first priority was to always protect its staff and customers.

No arrests had been made by Friday morning.

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