The blazing afternoon sun beat down relentlessly on the shopping complex. A number of shoppers could be seen in the many shops there.
A car stopped just outside the entrance to the shopping complex. Three young well-dressed men in dark glasses stepped out of the car. One man remained in the car with the engine idling.
The three young men headed straight for the goldsmith’s shop located just inside the entrance. Very swiftly one snatched the shotgun from the half-asleep guard who was sitting at the door, pointed it at the startled guard, and told him to lie face down on the floor.
Immediately another young man whipped out a pistol, pointed it at the crowd in the shop, and yelled, “get down on the floor and don’t move!”
A woman screamed. In reply, the man with the gun fired a shot into the ceiling and yelled, “get down and shut up!”
As the shoppers in the shop and outside dived for the floor, the third young man ran behind the counter containing the trays of gold ornaments, took out a hammer from within his clothes, and smashed the glass top of the counter.
Swiftly he emptied trays of gold rings, necklaces, and other jewelry into a cloth bag. In less than a minute most of the trays were empty.
The young man then came out from behind the counter, signaled to his accomplices, and soon they were sprinting out of the shopping complex. Most of the shoppers were still lying face down on the floor when the three robbers reached their car. However, the manager of the goldsmith’s shop had risen from the floor and was running after the robbers with a pistol in his hand.
Just as the last robber was about to board the car, the manager came up a few meters behind and took a hasty shot at him. The bullet slammed into the door missing the robber by inches. Then from within the car came a shot. The manager doubled over as the bullet hit his midriff and he dropped on his knees. Women screamed when they saw blood flowing onto the floor. The last of the robber entered the car and it took off tires screeching as the driver tried to get away as quickly as possible.
In a moment, everything was eerily quiet. All that could be heard was the groaning of the shot manager and the purring of the air-conditioning. Then, as though coming out of a dream, a few men rushed to help the now prone manager. Someone yelled, “call the police!” Another yelled, “get an ambulance!” An excited chatter of voices soon filled the shopping complex.
Outside the sun beat down. The daring young robbers had made good their escape, for the time being. Soon the police would be hot on their heels.