Soshanguve Crossing Mall vows to ensure safety of patrons

The entrance to Soshanguve Crossing Mall where shoppers have been told they can rest assured that their safety is the number one priority. Picture: Oupa Mokoena/African News Agency (ANA)

The entrance to Soshanguve Crossing Mall where shoppers have been told they can rest assured that their safety is the number one priority. Picture: Oupa Mokoena/African News Agency (ANA)

Published Sep 2, 2021

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Pretoria - Shoppers at Soshanguve Crossing Mall have been told they can rest assured that their safety is the number one priority of the centre management.

This is despite the fatal shooting of two people at the precinct last Friday.

General manager of the centre, Wynard Louw, was reacting to concerns raised by some community members calling for the security company to be replaced following the shooting incident.

It was reported that a security guard and a Spar employee were shot dead when an alleged robber barged in chasing someone who fled into the mall for help.

Louw said: “You have to bear in mind that the incident happened on the outside of the mall and it infiltrated into the mall.”

He expressed condolences to the bereaved families, saying the mall management saw the incident in a serious light and “took it to heart” because the dead were “ones of our own”.

Concerned community members at Block LLK were yesterday expected to air their grievances regarding the security of shoppers with the management. However, they postponed this until further notice.

Speaking on behalf of the residents, Percy Mawela said the community were concerned that two people were killed despite the fact that there was security in place.

“We would be happy if that security company could be replaced. These types of killings can’t be allowed to happen with security around. Remember that time when we were protecting the mall from looting? We noticed that they were short-staffed. They don’t carry anything like firearms,” he said.

Mawela said the main concern of the community was that the lives of people working at the mall were in danger after the state of security was left exposed last week.

Speaking to the Pretoria News, Louw said: “It’s extremely sad what happened there. The people – shoppers, the security and anyone visiting the mall – are a priority for us and we do the utmost to protect them. We also do what we can within the law.”

Regarding concerns that the security guards were working without firearms, he said: “We are a family mall, and if you implement armed guards there’s going to be a shoot-out when things go wrong.”

Pretoria News

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