“We're working closely with Westfield. It may be serendipitous, but a week ago Wednesday we did an exercise with Westfield where we basically went through an incident involving an active armed offender here at Westfield.
Joy, a longtime resident of the area, was at Kmart, which is at the other end of the David Jones shopping center, when the emergency was announced.
He estimated about 100 shoppers were in the store, reported the emergency and moved to the back of the store.
“They kept saying over the loudspeaker that there was an emergency and I don't think people believed it until they actually kicked the doors of the store,” Joy said.
“Once they pulled the doors down, people realized something was up.
“Nobody really freaked out and you can't fault the Kmart staff, they've been absolutely brilliant.
“They have kept everyone calm, they feed us and distribute blankets to those who are cold. The staff have been great, absolutely great.”
Seven News Adelaide has released videos of what it says are South Australian Police Rescue and Special Tasks Unit officers inside the shopping centre.
Police wear tactical gear, brandish guns and carry shields in the vision, which also shows shuttered shops and a seemingly empty shopping centre.
Joy said at around 5pm AEST that she and other shoppers had been locked in the store for about an hour while police continued their operations and that they will not be able to leave until police say it is safe to go- there
“I'm sure people are shaken up, but they've only been chatting or talking to family on the phone.
“We don't know what's going on. It feels like pieces but they [the staff] they said they will keep us posted. They just said that until we get clearance from the police, we can't let you out. That's all right. They have been more than helpful.
The SA Pol website says the duties of STAR officers “include the arrest of armed criminals”.
