Johannesburg - Shoppers looking for opening sales at the newly built Springs Mall had to duck bullets and run for their lives when police and robbers shot at each other after an attempted robbery.
Five people – two police officers, a customer, a highly pregnant journalist from The Star and a photographer – were injured in the mayhem when the robbers opened fire just after the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
It is believed that the men, pretending to be customers, used a pram to hide their guns.
The Star’s mobile journalist Rudzani Matshili, who was at the mall covering the opening, said she was near Woolworths when she heard the first shot.
“I didn’t register or realise what it was, but then there was a second shot about five seconds later.
“I’m pregnant, and all I could think about was my unborn child,” she said.
Matshili recalled people running and screaming, adding that she fell and hurt herself as people rushed past her during the chaos when she tried to take cover under a table.
#SpringsMallShootout: Three people including two police officers and a civilian was shot. @ReporterStar pic.twitter.com/jEwIebG8m7
— Ilanit Chernick (@LanC_02) March 16, 2017 #SpringsMallShootout: Police say they have four suspects in custody. This car was used the men. @ReporterStar pic.twitter.com/d4tMX8gCpM
— Ilanit Chernick (@LanC_02) March 16, 2017 #SpringsMallShootout: Police forensic team are swabbing two of the suspects for evidence. @ReporterStar pic.twitter.com/mkBXuvdvIU
— Ilanit Chernick (@LanC_02) March 16, 2017
She ran inside a shop, where the shop attendants let her in, and locked the doors and waited.
“I was crying a lot, I told them I was pregnant and they brought me water. We waited until it was safe,” she said.
The Star photographer Babalwa Dhlamini injured one of her legs, and her camera was smashed, when she fell while trying to get away from the shooting.
“I was by the buffet table, and when the shots went off, everyone went into panic mode; people trampled over the tables and I just heard the glasses smash.
“I fell while trying to get away and ran out through the emergency exit. Once I was outside I noticed my leg was bleeding, there was a lot of blood. Initially I thought I’d been shot, and I wasn’t sure what had happened,” she added.
“I was terrified, I’ve never been in a situation like this before,” Dhlamini added.
Another witness, who asked to remain anonymous, said she was outside the entrance to the shopping mall.
“I came here to shop and enjoy this new mall, and instead what I saw was a woman getting shot by thugs."
“I’m in shock, I can’t believe this happened right in front of my eyes,” he said.
Ekurhuleni Disaster and Emergency Management Services spokesperson William Ntladi said the two police officers were critically injured during the shootout.
“One police officer sustained a gunshot wound to the shoulder and was airlifted to Union Hospital and the other sustained a gunshot wound to the hand,” he said
“The third patient, a member of the public, sustained gunshot wounds to her lower abdominal region and is in a serious but stable condition. She was transported to hospital,” Ntladi added.
Police officers at the scene confirmed that four suspects had been apprehended after the shootout.
In a separate incident, a Telkom store inside the Centurion Mall was robbed by three men. Tshwane Central police spokesperson Captain Daniel Mavimbela said the thugs fled the scene with a large number of cellphones.
“The men threatened staff members and were armed with handguns."
“We believe they left the scene in a silver Mercedes,” he said.
Mavimbela added that nobody had been injured during the robbery. A case of business robbery was opened and police have launched a manhunt for the men.
@Lanc_02