As the shops in the centre were busying closing for the evening after a long day of business, an unknown number of armed men started robbing the various businesses and one person was shot and another woman injured.
While one owner of Safari Supermarket and take-away was busy closing the business for the evening on Friday, January 26 a well known customer asked if he could get something from inside the shop quickly.
As the owner opened up the doors for the customer to come in another person also walked into the shop.
Within minutes the second person that entered the shop pulled out a firearm and approximately three unknown men entered the shop at that stage.
The shop still had a few customers inside; they were all told to lie down on the floor. One of the owners behind the till was told to hand over the money that was in the till.
While the suspects were grabbing the money from the first till, they took the other owner to the back of the shop where he was hit over the head.
The suspect then took all the money from the safe which was opened for them by the owner who at this stage was bleeding profusely from the head.
The suspects loaded all the money into a bag; wanting more money a shot was fired into the ground in the office.
As the customers and owner lay on the floor with the gun shot echoing through the building it was still unclear to them what was happening in the office at the back.
Next minute the suspects ran out of the shop.
The owner who was bleeding from his head chased after them, not knowing that there were more suspects outside the shop.
It’s alleged that the suspects just started firing random shots at the owner from Safari.
A bullet hit the owner in the forearm and he managed to run to a business around the corner in Second Street.
One woman was assaulted inside the shop during the robbery and the robbers got away with an undisclosed amount of money.
Luckily the one owners girlfriend was inside the car, waiting for her boyfriend to lock up and she noticed something was not right and pushed the panic button.
The armed robbery that occurred on Friday evening, January 26 at Safari Supermarket and take-away.
While the robbery at Safari was taking place, the other suspects started robbing the other businesses.
At the bottle store and tavern, the owner, Mr Suren Naidoo alleged that he was busy closing his shops as well. While he was outside the shop he noticed that the owner of Safari was screaming for help and he was running towards Naidoo.
Hot on the owners heels was one of the suspects, recalls Naidoo.
Standing next to Naidoo’s shop was another armed suspect, who pulled out his firearm and pointed it at Naidoo.
“The suspect forced me back into the shop, where he took me to the back office. I had my back pack with me at the time,” said Naidoo on scene.
Naidoo had to lie down on the floor as the suspect took his back pack that had his cell phone, shop keys and an undisclosed amount of money inside it.
The suspect left the shop and Naidoo heard four gun shots echo through the evening sky. He waited a while before he went to the front of the shop to see what had happened.
A bakkie from a security company responded to the panic button alert.
While the robbery was taking place, Mr Vincent van Rooyen and his co-worker Mr Charle Moses was driving a blue Volkswagen Golf.
They had just finished work when they went to Safari to buy a couple of things for the evening.
As they parked the vehicle in the parking lot, two unknown suspects approached the vehicle.
Moses and Van Rooyen started running away from the scene when a suspect allegedly hijacked the blue Volkswagen to use as a get away car.
Mr Johan Bekker who was parked at the garage heard that the suspects were going to use the blue Volkswagen Golf as their get away car and immediately jumped into his bakkie and drove over the pavement where he rammed into the blue Volkswagen.
“I left my wife and children in the garage, while I drove to stop what was supposed to be the get away car and turned out not to be,” said Bekker on scene.
Emergency services responded to the incident and the owner who had been shot and hit over the head was treated on scene and taken to hospital for further treatment.
The woman who had been assaulted was treated by paramedics on scene and taken to hospital.
The suspects actually got away with the security companies bakkie and a firearm. Not long after the robbery the bakkie was recovered in Old Coronation by members from the SACCW.
On Sunday, January 28 early in the morning two suspects from the robbery at Safari were arrested.
ALSO READ
https://www.citizen.co.za/witbank-news/105263/shots-fired-items-stolen-safari-supermarket-centre/
https://www.citizen.co.za/witbank-news/105313/fast-thinking-homeowner-traps-alleged-thieves/
