Soon the area in front of the store was so full that the crowd could not step back to allow security guards to open the door. Some simply did not want to move out of fear that they would lose their place.
Sarah Ndimande was there with her family. She says she was hoping to get some Christmas clothes for her children, but had accepted that her chances of getting into the shop were slim.
Eventually the store's door was damaged, resulting in security guards allegedly pepper-spraying people in the crowd. Several hours into the wait, the pressured security workers threatened to not open the store at all.
The situation remained volatile, with police and guards trying different methods to maintain order.