The problem is you can’t shoot them, cop says about looter stealing goods

There were chaotic scenes at Springfield Value Centre in Durban on Monday as scores of people from surrounding communities stormed the shopping centre to loot stores  containing branded shoes, apparel, furniture, appliances and groceries. 

Police and metro police officers responded to the looting and fired rubber bullets in an attempt to disperse the crowds who had broken into shops and emptied hundreds of boxes holding branded apparel in the parking lot. 

Officers shouted at the looters, telling them to drop the stolen goods and leave the centre.

Some members of the crowds taunted the police, daring them to shoot them while they escaped with the stolen property. 

“The problem is that you cannot shoot them,” one police officer told TimesLIVE. 

Police began firing teargas at the crowds, who didn’t seem perturbed and returned to the shops.

The looters also forcibly removed cellphones from people who were recording them stealing items from stores. 

In South Beach, hundreds of people broke into the Shoprite outlet, grabbing food items and alcohol.

TimesLIVE