An iStore customer’s amusing account of a robbery attempt at the branch in Menlyn, Pretoria, on Monday has attracted much mirth on Twitter.
Dr Baddy describes herself as a PhD candidate who is “unshakable, unwavering, indomitable”. Speaking to TimesLIVE, she said she would prefer not to divulge her real identity.
“I had no idea this thing would blow up like this on Twitter,” she said, adding that people had speculated she made up the storyp. However, Apple iStore has confirmed the incident.
“The scenes yesterday in the iStore in Menlyn. There’s a hijabi heistess and her two young accomplices who’ve been robbing iStores and yesterday they nabbed her. Straight out of a movie. The staff closed the doors and wouldn’t let anyone out. Then security guards showed up,” Dr Baddy tweeted earlier this week.
The manager, a tall, thin white man, approached the hijabi heistess and showed her what appeared to be footage of her stealing from a different iStore. One of the accomplices tried to run
— Dr Baddy on Twitter
“The staff were whispering to each other through their AirPods. Then the manager, a tall, thin white man, approached the hijabi heistess and showed her what appeared to be footage of her stealing from a different iStore. One of the accomplices tried to run.
“A young Indian girl — kinda but not really — wearing a head scarf, low-key unkempt. She claimed her dad was waiting for her in the car and she desperately had to go. They wouldn’t let her out. She was stressed. The second accomplice, a young black boy, also tried to dash. Didn’t work,” Dr Baddy said.
She then corrected her description of the main suspect as a hijabi heistess, pointing out the woman’s headgear as “technically a niqab”.
“The heistess is screaming now: ‘Just because I’m wearing a scarf you think I’m stealing? This is an attack on the Muslim community. This is injustice. This is racist.’ She’s making valid points.
“Four security guards enter the store. She opens her niqab and reveals her face. She’s still screaming. She starts heading towards the door, saying she’s going to call the cops on the security guards. ‘Don’t you dare touch me. I’ll call the police. This is injustice. Let me out.’
“The manager is super calm and smooth. He’s whispering to her and shows her more footage. She gets quiet and moves to the opposite side of the store. Her face and hair are completely exposed now and she’s making a call on her iPhone. It’s a gold Pro Max, storage unknown.”
Dr Baddy’s followers commented they were disappointed she could not declare the storage capacity of the phone, prompting her to respond: “Even me. But in my heart I believe the hijabi heistess would have the 1TB.”
The story continued: “The heistess and the boy had walked into the store behind me and my girlfriend. The staff glance at us. Wtf. But they keep it moving. The heistess gets off the phone, security informs her she’s being detained. She’s no longer screaming, she’s clocked that the jig is up.
“She’s escorted out by two security guards. The manager instructs the staff to open the doors. The other customers start breaking down the drama, others are getting out as quickly as possible. The staff start unplugging all the devices on display and locking them away.
“The staff are walking out in a straight line. Plot twist. The manager informs us they’re also being detained. They look fed up. Anyway, they tried to send me home without my phone after three hours of waiting and driving all the way from Centurion. Nah, lol. I got my phone,” Dr Baddy concluded.
There was a soldier in her uniform and sis looked up at the situation, then looked away and filled in her Telkom contract application. I think people wanted her to get involved because she was in uniform. Maybe she’s in administration, leave her alone
— Dr Baddy on Twitter
After much feedback from her followers, she added: “Then there was a couple with two small kids, the youngest a baby in a stroller who was crying and her bottle was in the car. There was a soldier in her uniform and sis looked up at the situation, then looked away and filled in her Telkom contract application. I think people wanted her to get involved because she was in uniform. Maybe she’s in administration, leave her alone.
“Then there was the black lady with a purple fade who was walking around trying to get info like it was gossip. Then there was this red-headed white guy drinking Starbucks walking around looking at accessories like nothing was happening. Umm, Nathan, read the room?!
“I was trying to assess how much, if any, danger we were in. Yeah, it was an average-sized woman and young people, but robbing more than one iStore isn’t a small thing.”
This was backed by one of her followers who commented: “She was taken to Boksburg north police station because they linked her to another theft at East Rand Mall.”
Pretoria police spokesperson Dimakatso Sello said Brooklyn police had not received a report about a robbery attempt at the Menlyn iStore.
A spokesperson for Apple iStore said she could confirm the incident but t they were not ready to issue a kind of statement or speak about what happened “because the matter is under investigation and nothing has been completed”.
TimesLIVE
Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.