Don't panic over Black Friday looting messages, say KZN police

The police have asked the public to ignore social media posts that have gone viral about the possibility of looting during Black Friday.

According to the message, those responsible for looting in July might try to use Black Friday as a pretext to enter the stores and cause mayhem.

However, KZN police spokesperson Brig Jay Naicker said: “Please ignore messages circulating on WhatsApp or social media platforms that seek to create panic in the community and encourage people to participate in any form of criminality. If there are any serious threats that we are aware of, we will issue an official statement and post such on this group.”

Community policing forum groups informed members to take precautions but not to “overreact to this bad news as, hopefully, nothing will happen”.

One group said: “We have had unverified messages that there will be rioting with the Black Friday Sales that are to happen this week. This message is unverified and nobody has taken responsibility for writing the message. We do not think anything of this nature will happen. SAPS, Metro, security companies and neighbourhood watches are all on high alert and are ready should this happen.

“Please do not panic and please do not share or circulate unverified messages. Your neighbourhood watches know what to do and they have protected you in the past so please trust that they know what they are doing and will keep you posted if there is anything to share.”

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