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Pretoria - Police arrested a man and were still searching for two others following a business robbery that forced the closure of a block in the Pretoria central business district on Friday.
It is understood three men entered the Protea Towers building, which houses Nedbank and Standard Bank at the junction of Bank and Pretorius Streets and they allegedly went on a robbing spree inside the building.
Police spokesperson Captain Tshekiso Mofokeng said the incident occurred at around 2:20pm.
"They entered the building and started robbing patrons of their belongings. During the commotion, patrons started running in all directions. Some of them ran into the Capitec Bank in front of the building. Police were summoned," he said.
"It was initially thought it was a bank robbery, but upon arrival, police established it was actually a business robbery," Mofokeng said.
The incident resulted in the closure of streets surrounding the building as police searched for the suspects. The building was cleared and police conducted an operation, which led to the arrest of one man who was taken into custody.
"During the operation, a 22-year-old man was taken in for questioning. No shots were fired and no one was injured in the process," he said.
The scene attracted attention with people standing on their balconies looking down and others lining the streets behind police tapes. The crowd clapped and cheered when the suspect was taken out of the building and into the police car.
There was a heavy police presence in the area with more than 10 police cars and numerous motorcycles parked nearby. Locals were taking pictures and videos on their phones with others calling family members to check if they were unharmed.
Mofokeng called on those in the building when the incident occurred to come forward.
"We appeal to all those who were inside to come forward with information to assist police with the investigations," he said.
