Police are investigating another serious case of business robbery at Princess Shopping Centre this morning 4 October after a group of armed men stormed into a cellphone shop, held two people at gunpoint and fled with some merchandise.
At approximately 9am three men, two of them armed, rushed into Autopage Princess Crossing and held a gun to an employee’s head, demanding cellphones. The employee managed to press the panic button.
The men also panicked and ran off with a few items. On their way out, they came across the owner of Suidwes Biltong and when he realised what was happening, he grabbed one of the suspects and pushed him to the floor. Another suspect then came from behind, drew his firearm and pointed it at the owner.
Remarkably, no shots were fired and no one was injured. The men fled in a silver Opel Astra. Arriving at the scene were Roodepoort SAPS and the Roodepoort Crime Scene Investigation Unit, and they will be investigating a case of business robbery. The employee of the cellphone shop explained the incident.
“As I was about to switch on the second laptop, the men entered the shop. One of them jumped over the counter, pointing the firearm at me and demanding cellphones, while another grabbed some items. The third man stood inside the shop. When I pushed the panic button, they panicked and decided to flee.”
The owner of the biltong shop says, “I usually greet the guys next to us and as I entered their shop, I saw fear on one of the employees’ faces and knew something was wrong. As the men ran out, I managed to grab one of them, without realising that they were armed. As I was about to jump on him, another came from behind and pointed the firearm at me. I turned around and ran. I thought I was going to die and waited for the shot.”
Video footage of the incident between the biltong shop owner and one of the suspects will be made available soon.
