Menlyn Maine shopping centre, east of Tshwane, was evacuated on Tuesday after a man threatened to blow up a bank there with what police later discovered was a "fake bomb".
Emergency services responded quickly to reports that a man had threatened to detonate bombs inside the bank.
Unconfirmed reports suggested that he demanded a substantial sum of money.
Police spokesperson Capt Colette Weilbach said the man, in his 50s, entered the branch about 11.15am.
"He handed a note over to the bank teller who served him. The note said there was a bomb planted inside the bank. The security immediately reacted and evacuated the whole shopping centre. The SAPS responded and arrested the man inside the bank."
A firearm was confiscated.
"The SAPS bomb disposal and K9 units were called out and are still on the scene to inspect a device that was found. The shopping centre is not declared as safe yet."
The centre was declared safe at 3pm.
"The device that was found was a fake bomb. The 50-year-old suspect from Garsfontein will face an additional charge of attempted bank robbery," Weilbach said in an update during the afternoon.
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