Attempted robbery at Maponya Mall’s Pick n Pay

At around 8:30 this morning, a group of  seven men entered the Pick n Pay at the well-known Maponya Mall in Pimville, Soweto in an attempt to rob the store.

Workers promptly alerted the store’s security, who then exchanged gunfire with the robbers before the armed men fled.

Currently no witnesses or arrests have been made, but police still remain at the scene, and the Pick n Pay store remains closed. The Maponya Mall robbery comes after a number of mall robberies in Johannesburg within the year. Between August and September , Gauteng malls were robbed 11 times, and other provinces also reported robberies within the same period.

Eyewitnesses at the mall took to social media to give details of the incident, with some saying that a robbery early into the holidays has already made for a wary festive season.

Police have asked anyone with more information to come forward to assist in the investigation.