An attempted armed robbery took place at Van Deijl Jewellery store in Somerset Mall Sunday morning, February 16.
According to a statement posted to the Somerset West Facebook page, six armed men entered the mall and five security guards were held hostage. The men smashed the window of the jewellery store which immediately activated the security shutters. The perpetrators escaped with no jewellery.
Upon making their escape, the robbers, who were reportedly armed with two high caliber firearms, entered an unnamed sunglasses store and managed to steal a number of sunglasses. A staff member was injured during the altercation and immediately taken to the hospital for treatment. No shots where fired during the incident.
A Somerset Mall security guard said he was on scene within 5 minutes of the incident. “Suspects have 2 high caliber firearms. 2 vehicles were left idling at Entrance 2 of Somerset Mall. 4 bravo males suspects got away,” he said in a statement.
Somerset Mall is working closely with the partners and stakeholders within the security cluster as well as law enforcement authorities to ensure the safety of all customers and tenants visiting the mall.
Picture: Supplied