|
Robbers hid behind newspapers
06/09/2005 11:41 - (SA)
Johannesburg - Robbers who shot a security guard at the Rosebank Mall in Johannesburg dead on Friday morning were sitting at coffee shops, hiding their guns behind newspapers before they attacked.
Nick Dollman, a spokesperson for emergency rescue company ER24, said according to witnesses the robbers were sitting at two different coffee shops outside the mall.
"A witness said the men were hiding their guns behind newspapers," he said.
"The men opened at fire as the two SBV security guards walked past."
One guard was said to have been shot in the foot while outside of the mall.
The other was shot in the leg.
"A guard who works for a security firm at Rosebank Mall was shot in the head at the bottom of the stairs just inside the main entrance," Dollman said.
A window of the entrance to the mall was cracked where a bullet had hit.
The police had placed yellow cones in the areas where they had found cartridge cases.
"People sitting at these coffee shops could easily have been hit," Dollman said.
The owner of a luggage store at the mall said people in the area threw themselves to the ground when the shooting started.
"Everyone in the area fell flat on the floor. I also fell flat," the man said.
"When I looked up I saw men running in all directions. I remember seeing a young, thin man. He had a revolver. The men seemed to run in the direction of Oxford Road."
The man said security guards should not move money during the day, when hundreds of customers were out shopping.
"They should move the money in the dead of the night," he said.
"Then if there is a gun fight it can happen when there are no visitors."
A woman she was at a coffee shop overlooking the scene when the shooting started.
She said people were terrified. "Everyone was under the tables."
The woman said someone had stolen her trolley full of groceries during the incident.
Other people had lost their wallets and cellphones, which were on the tables, she said.
Police spokesperson Superintendent Chris Wilken told reporters at the scene that an attempted robbery took place at 10:55.
He said a security guard was shot dead and two others wounded.
"An SBV security guard entered the mall to deposit money and shortly afterwards several shots were fired.
"One security guard was shot dead and two others shot in the leg."
Wilken said it appeared between four and seven men, who all escaped in a white Nissan bakkie, were involved in the attempted robbery. No money was stolen.
The two security guards, aged between 25 and 30, were taken to a nearby hospital.
Wilken said police were searching the mall in case any robbers were hiding. But police believed all the robbers had fled.
Wilken couldn't confirm reports the security guards had been on their way to the Nedbank branch inside the mall.
He said no visitors to the shopping centre, which is popular among tourists, were injured.
The usually busy coffee shops in the area were deserted as crowds gathered around police tape to catch a glimpse of what was happening.
But outside the tape, a few metres from the mall's entrance, some shoppers sitting at nearby restaurants continued to eat salads and sandwiches a little more than an hour after the incident.
Others wanted to be let into the mall to do their shopping.
"Is this going to take long?" one woman asked.
A Chinese tourist took photographs of the bullet-damaged windows.
A woman, who had been inside a branch of First National Bank when the robbery happened, said she heard one shot.
"We heard one gunshot when our teller jumped over the counter to lock the door of bank.
"We ran upstairs where we got a bird's eye view".
Police said the mall would remain closed until they had finished gathering evidence.
- SAPA
|
News
