19 August – 6.37pm
After a few hours of searching the Lonehill Shopping Centre has been declared safe by the police. Station commander of the Douglasdale police station Brigadier Lettie Hugo said, “The centre has been declared safe. The public can return. Sorry for the inconvenience, but the evacuation was done for safety reason. A huge thank you to all role players for their assistance.”
19 August – 5.20pm
The Lonehill Shopping Centre has been fully evacuated to allot the bombs dogs to search the building.
Brigadier Lettie Hugo of the Douglasdale Police said, “The police dogs are still busy on the scene. It is not yet declared safe.”
19 August – 4.24pm
Lonehill Residents Association said the metro police support staff and dogs have arrived to support the police.
No devices have been found as of yet.
Nicky Arthur PR, who Lonehill Shopping Centre is a client, said that the centre received an anonymous email earlier in the day mentioning a bomb threat. The agency added that the authorities were notified immediately and the building was evacuated.
Some on social media have questioned the authenticity of the threat:
https://twitter.com/CICArsa/status/766643398640078848
Update – 19 August – 4pm
Station commander of the Douglasdale Police Station Brigadier Lettie Hugo said, “Bomb threat received. Lonehill shopping centre evacuated for all safety.”
Hugo added that officer are on the scene with search dogs and are currently investigating.
This scare follows a similar one in Fourways that took place at the Standard Bank in Fourways Crossing.
There's a bomb at the woolworths in Lonehill. We need to evacuate!!!
— Hansa Madhavgy (@Hansipie93) August 19, 2016
Bomb threat at Lonehill, hope its not the real thing.
— Gerard (@GerardZA) August 19, 2016
Initial report:
According to the Lonehill Residents Association, a bomb threat has been received at the Lonehill Shopping Centre.
The post urged residents to stay away from the area, following an evacuation by Fidelity. Police are currently at the scene and doing a full investigation. Emergency services are also on stand by.
Spokesperson for EMER-G-MED Max Cohen said that they are aware of the threat and have vehicles on standby if anything happens.
DOUGLASDALE CPF ADVISING OF POLICE OPERATION AT LONEHILL SHOPPING CENTRE
The Douglasdale CPF wishes to alert ist… https://t.co/3gxRT2NrES— DouglasdaleCPF (@DouglasdaleCPF) August 19, 2016
Further details remain unclear at this stage, however, updates will follow as more information becomes available.
https://twitter.com/KesiMolefe/status/766632573636321280
https://twitter.com/L_wayz/status/766632324406583297
There's been a bomb scare at Lonehill Shopping Centre 😐 evacuated out of the office.
— Lauren (@LaurenIpsumZA) August 19, 2016
Bomb scare – Lonehill shopping centre – avoid Lonehill boulevard. Services on scene. @EWNTraffic @netstartraffic @PigSpotter
— Sochy (@greg_soch) August 19, 2016
https://twitter.com/2PeasandaPotato/status/766624246504296448
https://twitter.com/vahsiN/status/766623938453639172
