Former employees of a Redbank Plains shopping centre, where a grandmother was fatally stabbed in the chest, told 7NEWS they have previously walked off the job over unsafe conditions.
Vyleen White, 70, was returning to the car in the Town Square Redbank Plains underground carpark with her groceries and her six-year-old granddaughter when she was killed just after 6pm on Saturday.
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White’s young granddaughter ran up the escalator screaming and crying for help following the incident, as the assailants allegedly stole White’s vehicle.
Local resident and off-duty doctor, Ademola Afolabi heard the young girl’s cries and rushed to help White, but it was too late.
“I called triple-0 immediately, and not long after I did compressions for about a minute, but there was no response,” Afolabi told 7NEWS.
“For a little girl to witness that is painful, she won’t forget that.”
A manhunt is on for the four men in relation to the attack at the shopping centre.
“It’s an abhorrent, violent and cowardly attack,” Queensland Police Detective Acting Superintendent Health McQueen told 7NEWS.
White’s car was spotted on CCTV footage pulling up on a Springfield Lakes street shortly after the incident, and four men McQueen described as being male and of African appearance were seen exiting the vehicle.
“It might be a mixture of adults and juveniles, it’s too early to speculate,” McQueen said.
The blue hatchback has since been towed for forensic testing.
‘So much crime’
Former employees told 7NEWS the shopping centre was known to be unsafe, and staff had previously walked off the job when concerns were not addressed.
Queensland Police told 7NEWS that police presence had been increasing at the shopping centre, but would now increase even further, following the fatal attack on Saturday.
Local man Shannon Williams, was at the shopping centre with his seven-year-old son when he told 7NEWS that his wife “won’t step foot” in the shopping centre alone after she was robbed three months earlier.
“So much crime takes place here, we see fights all the time here,” Williams said.
“A few other women have been targeted going to their cars down there,”
Another local resident, Nickole Cooper told 7NEWS: “I have a mum, she’s 75 years old, and she comes up here all the time, and I’ve just told her that she can’t do that anymore because it’s not safe enough.”
Locals are calling for 24-hour surveillance of the shopping centre, including more cameras and constant police presence.
Premier Steven Miles called the incident on Saturday “a terrible crime”.
“No one should die as this woman has, and our police are taking it very, very seriously.”
Outpouring of grief from family
White’s husband of 49 years, who is blind and whom she cared for, was seen arriving at the shopping centre after the attack, and was led away by detectives.
White’s daughter, Cindy Micallef released a statement remembering her mother as a kind woman, and expressed the family’s grief following the shock attack.
“My mother was the most loving, compassionate and caring person you could ever meet,” she said.
“She would do anything for anyone, she was the light and life of our family.
“Her love for Jesus and her prayers for us all is what had kept us all going through family crisis over the years.
“We now have an immeasurable hole in our hearts that can never be filled.”
Police said they are supporting White’s family, including her granddaughter, following the traumatic incident.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.
“This is the murder of a 70-year-old grandmother in front of her six-year-old granddaughter, now is not the time to remain tight-lipped,” McQueen said.