AS a hail of bullets flew past him, Siva Moodley lunged behind the cigarette counter praying for dear life that none of his staff members had been shot.
Recounting his horrific ordeal, the Tops at Spar Manager at Five Ways Mall has suffered sleepless nights after armed gunmen stormed into the bottle store on Saturday night.
It was previously reported the robbery was foiled, however new information confirms the men made off with an undisclosed amount of cash.
Moodley told the Zululand Observer the six staff members were preparing to close the store at 6.45pm when one of the suspects ran in with a firearm.
‘I immediately ducked when I saw him approach me while the other staff members hid in the aisles. He then grabbed me by the collar at gunpoint. He wanted to know whether I was the manager and demanded the keys to the till.’
A second suspect, believed to be in his late twenties, entered the store and grabbed the money draw.
‘They kicked me to the floor and when they got to the door fired two rounds.’
Frantic passers-by and shoppers had alerted a policeman at the shopping centre of a robbery in progress. However, when he tried to intervene, the armed men opened fire, shooting the policeman in the upper leg.
Another police officer in civilian clothes retaliated and a shoot-out ensued with the suspects fleeing on foot, leaving their getaway vehicle, a Toyota Corolla, in the parking area.
‘The shots were loud and it was like something out of the movies. I would not wish anyone to be in that situation. As a single parent, the whole time I thought of my family. I thought we were going to die,’ said Moodley.
‘When I got to the door, it was the first time I saw the policeman, who was injured on the floor.’
Hid for cover
Staff members at the nearby uMhlathuze Pharmacy said they shut the door and hid for cover when they heard the first three gunshots.
‘The staff ran to the back of the dispensary. We had no customers at the time,’ said Pharmacist Assistant Rochelle du Toit.
‘Another seven to eight loud bangs went off and we didn’t know what was happening. I saw people running towards Spar. It was over within seconds but felt like hours,’ Du Toit said.
The armed gang of robbers is still at large, but police managed to recover a 9mm pistol belonging to one of the suspects on Higgs Road, adjacent to the shopping centre.
Another cash bag was found next to the firearm.
The injured policeman is reportedly in a stable condition at Life Empangeni Garden Clinic.
