PEOPLE ran for cover and chaos erupted when heavily armed men stormed into Edgars Active in the Ga-Rankuwa City Shopping Centre, north of Pretoria.
The four thugs ordered the manager to open the safe and took the money there.
They also grabbed cash from the tills.
The suspects are still at large after getting away with an undisclosed amount of money.
A worker at the store said the men looked like ordinary shoppers.
“When we opened the store they came inside with us,” he said.
“They told us to lie on the floor. They then took money from the tills and the safe and fled.”
He said when shoppers saw the men with guns they ran for their lives.
“It was chaos. People were screaming, old women were running and others were trying to hide.
“We thought they were going to shoot us but they just took the money and left. We lay on the floor for 10 minutes until we were sure they were gone,” he said.
Shopper Isaac Mashigo (38) said he saw the four men walking out of the mall with guns. He said he ran back to his car and stayed there until the thugs had driven off.
“I thought they would kill anyone who got in their way. Everywhere they turned, people ran away,” he said.
Warrant Officer Matthews Nkoadi said a case of business robbery was opened and police are investigating.
