Cape Town - A staff member was injured and was taken to hospital for treatment, after six armed robbers attempted to rob a jewellery store at the Somerset Mall on Sunday morning.
Wiedaad Adams, Somerset Mall's marketing manager, confirmed the incident and said an attempted armed robbery at a jewellery store occurred at 10:17am.
Adams said six armed men entered the mall and five security guards were held hostage. She said the men smashed the window of the jewellery store which immediately activated the security shutters, however, Adams said the perpetrators escaped with no jewellery.
Strand Neighbourhood Watch said the robbers smashed the window of the Van Deijl Jewellers store with a hammer.
Adams said upon their exit, the robbers entered a sunglass store and stole several sunglasses.
"A staff member sustained an injury and was taken to hospital for treatment."
"The security of our customers and tenants is a priority for us. We continue to work closely with the partners and stakeholders within the security cluster as well as law enforcement authorities to ensure the safety of customers and tenants," Adams said, no shots were fired during that incident.
Police spokesperson Andrè Traut said the circumstances surrounding a business robbery and an attempted business robbery was under investigation, with no arrests made.
Traut said armed suspects attempted to perpetrate a robbery at a jewellery store but failed.
"They then proceeded to a sunglass retail store and fled with sunglasses after holding the staff at gunpoint. One employee was injured when he fell. The suspects are yet to be arrested."
Malcolm Stephens, Fidelity Security Group Executive New Business Development, said the golden rule if you ever are caught in the middle of a heist is to stay calm.
Stephens said customers need to remain vigilant at all times and should always be on the lookout for any suspicious activities and be aware of the people around them.
"Whether you were in the store being robbed, or just witnessed the incident in the Centre, you should seek counselling, regardless of how you might feel. It often takes some time to experience and deal with the post-traumatic stress following such robberies," Stephens said.
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