Man killed at mall in Alexandra as cops arrest 219 people for looting

A person was killed during the looting of shops in Alexandra, Johannesburg, on Monday.

The body of the man lay outside the Capitec Bank ATM near the Pan Africa Mall at about 10am on Monday. There are no details of how the man was killed as Alexandra has been gripped by looting of shops since the early hours of the morning.

Police have confirmed that 219 people have been arrested for the looting that started on Friday following the incarceration of former president Jacob Zuma. Six people have since died in the violence, police confirmed on Monday morning.

Violence started in KwaZulu-Natal and spread to Gauteng and other provinces by Sunday evening. Police have been struggling to contain the crowds which have been looting every shop in the township. Two vehicles have been monitoring the volatile situation since Monday morning.

“When things are like this, there is nothing we can do,” said one of the police officers who was on the scene.

Police said they were investigating the circumstances of the death of four people since the start of the violent protest in Gauteng. On Sunday morning, police responded to a call from Alexandra clinic where they found a body with gunshot wounds.

Later that day, the body of a security guard with assault wounds was found at Jeppestown. The third body was discovered on Sunday evening in Dobsonville, Soweto, while the fourth one was found with gunshot wounds in Germiston, Ekurhuleni.

On Monday morning, people were seen loading furniture and groceries into vans, taxis and Toyota Avanzas which serve as local taxis in the township. Pan Africa Mall was dissipated into nothing. Every shop was looted, including African Bank and Capitec Bank branches.

Osbro Home, a furniture shop, became the next target after the mall was looted. Gas stoves, sofas, wardrobes and other furniture items were taken.

The looting at the furniture shop got so bad that people started fighting over the items. Inside the shop, there was what seemed like a gas explosion which forced the crowd to take cover.

Some of the Alexandra residents emerged from the shop bleeding as people were pushing to get inside the shop.

A Chicken Licken outlet next to the furniture shop was not spared. People broke the door and helped themselves to frozen chicken.