The centre management for Lonehill Shopping Centre, Noble Facilities Management, ‘sincerely regrets’ the incident in which an elderly woman was attacked and robbed of her jewellery in the basement of the centre.
The incident unfolded at about 2pm on 15 October and a statement posted on the Lonehill Residents Association (LRA) Facebook page on 17 October, described how the incident unfolded.
“A female customer, accompanied by her daughter and granddaughter, was robbed of her jewellery in the basement of the shopping centre by three armed males wearing balaclavas.”
The statement read it was believed the woman had been followed from a shop at another shopping centre.
Two women sustained injuries and were treated at the scene before being taken to Sunninghill Hospital for further treatment.
“The reaction officers promptly called for back-up but unfortunately, the thieves made their getaway. The entire incident from entering to exiting the basement took approximately three minutes,” read the statement.
The centre’s manager, Elaine Luciani said, “Lonehill Centre Management and owners sincerely regret the incident and will be following up directly with the ladies involved. We will be increasing our security complement during the construction stage and assure the public that satisfactory security measures will be implemented to ensure that this does not happen again.”
The statement posted on the LRA Facebook page further stated, “The LRA and FSS met with the Lonehill Shopping Centre management on Monday afternoon [16 October] to discuss crime prevention measures to prevent a repeat of this incident. The shopping centre owners and management are committed to developing a workable crime response strategy, integral to the centre’s upgrade. This will include the installation of real-time monitored security cameras. FSS has agreed to assist with further visibility in the interim.”
The statement added, “Incidents of people being specifically targeted for their expensive watches and jewellery are on the increase.”
The Douglasdale Community Policing Forum expressed shock at the incident, with the chairperson, Jean Berdou saying, “We are shocked at the robbery and accompanying violence that took place. The community needs to be more vigilant and to take proactive steps to ensure its safety.”
Berdou warned against people wearing expensive jewellery or carrying large amounts of money while out shopping, especially as we are approaching the festive season crime wave.
He urged residents to heed the following guidelines:
- Be aware of your surroundings while out in public spaces
- If you suspect you are being followed, call for help and drive toward the nearest police station
- Don’t carry personal items such as two phones, a tablet and a laptop at once. Criminals will target you if they see all those devices
- Take care and be alert after visiting a bank, ATM or a high-value shop. Being vigilant protects you from criminals looking for an opportunity to steal
Details: Police emergency number 10111.
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