Early-morning shoppers had to duck for cover on Tuesday as four armed robbers shot their way out of the busy Spar in Thohoyandou. Moments before, the robbers had stolen a substantial amount of cash from security guards who had come to collect it.
The incident occurred at around 10:00. According to eyewitnesses, the shop was busy that day as many people had come to collect their grant money. The suspects pretended to be normal customers and mingled with the rest of the shoppers while they waited for the security guards to come out of the store's cash office.
The suspects also robbed the security guards of two firearms before they fled through the receiving entrance at the back. They made their getaway in a white bakkie that was waiting for them at the bus rank.
The shop was cordoned off immediately after the robbery and remained closed as police experts searched the store for evidence. One shopper, who preferred anonymity, told the media that everything happened so fast, some of them did not even see the robbery.
"I was pushing a trolley through the shop, buying some groceries in preparation for a function we were going to have over the weekend, when I heard loud gunshots. Instinct told me that something was wrong, and I had to lie down. People next to me fell to the ground too and waited for the shooting to subside. It was as if a movie was being acted out in the shop. I have never in my life experienced that kind of fear. This will take a long time to fade from my mind," the shopper said.
At the time of our going to press, the police had still not commented on this paper's media enquiry about the incident.