Car-guard tells of gang swoop
2006-06-26 23:00
Pieter Jordaan
Johannesburg - "They walked into the shop, one by one, just like any other shoppers," says a car-guard of the 20-strong gang of robbers who ended up in a Jeppestown bloodbath.
He said he worked in front of Pick 'n Pay at the Honey Junction shopping centre in Honeydew View in the northwest of Johannesburg.
He didn't suspect anything, he said, and moments later the gang of about 20 thieves overpowered the cashiers and customers in the supermarket.
The thieves fled after the robbery and soon afterwards were involved in a bloody shoot-out with police in Jeppestown in the Johannesburg city centre, at their hideout.
Twelve people, including four police officers, died in the shoot-out.
Ran away and phoned police
The car-guard said he realised "only moments after the men began their 'operation' in the shop, that there was trouble".
"The gang ordered some of my colleagues (the other car-guards) to go into the shop and lie flat on the floor. They were searched for weapons.
"I decided to run away. Another security guard was with me, and then we were able to phone the police," said the man.
He said the thieves robbed customers of thei purses and cellphones.
"One man resisted and a thief shot him in his leg."
The amount stolen from the cashiers has not been disclosed yet.
- Beeld