Jewellery shop robbed in Clearwater Mall

The Browns Jewellers store at Clearwater Mall was the scene of an armed robbery last night.

Four men requested entry into the jewelry shop pretending to be buyers.

According to provincial police spokesperson Major Mack Mngomezulu, three of the men went inside the shop while the fourth stood at the shop’s entrance.

Once inside, one of the suspects drew a firearm and threatened the staff and ordered them to open the safe.

An unknown amount of jewelry was taken.

“The suspects then walked out of the shop. No shots were fired and a case of business robbery was opened Nobody was injured during the incident and the suspects are still at large,” said Mngomezulu.

Carmen Furnell was one of the shoppers at the mall and witnessed the incident.

She was shopping with her husband and two daughters.

As she walked past, she noticed the jewellery store was filled with smoke.

“You could see nothing but smoke,” she said.

Just as Carmen was about to tell her husband that something was going on in the shop, she saw shoppers suddenly dropping to the floor.

“A woman shouted ‘he’s got a gun, he’s got a gun’ people started dropping to the floor. The suspect was standing 30-metres away trying to see who will arrive. A few shots went off but I don’t know who he was shooting,” she said contradicting the police’s statement regarding whether shots were fired.

As the shots went off, Carmen grabbed her daughters and ran for the nearest shop while her husband went to another shop.

At this point, mall security guards could be seen running in the halls shouting for the shops to close their doors.

“We sat in the store for what felt like an eternity. I was shaking because for me it was de ja vu, I was shot at 18 so it felt like it was happening all over again. The two women that I hid with were calm during the entire incident and helped calm my daughters,” said Carmen.

After the suspects fled the scene, security guards gave the signal for the shops to open their doors.

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