Police have sealed off the crime scene at the Bedford Centre, east of Johannesburg to collect evidence after seven people were shot and injured in the shopping mall on Thursday.

A Sapa reporter at the scene said shoppers emerging from the centre were visibly traumatised after being caught in the cross-fire.

"Among them was a mother and a little girl who were still traumatised by the incident. The girl was crying as her mother carried her out of the centre."

A grey VW Jetta sedan, with blood stains on it, was also sealed off by the police to look for clues.

A firearm was spotted underneath the vehicle and a shoe lay nearby.

Earlier, police said seven people, including two alleged robbers, were injured in the shoot-out between security guards and a group of armed men.

Security guards were collecting cash inside the centre when they were confronted by the group. An undisclosed amount of money was taken, police said.

The South African Police Service twitter account stated that an unlicensed handgun and an AK47 were found on the scene.

A witness inside the centre, Renate Albrecht, told eNCA she had come out of a meeting when she heard "a stampede of people coming".

"We turned around and we heard gunshots. My business partner and I basically ran. The shots were coming from inside the centre and it sounded like it was getting louder like we were being followed," she said.

They ran to her car and hid until they were brave enough to leave.

She said people were running everywhere.

Twitter users posted images of the bloody scenes from inside the centre.

The News24 website posted a video of the blood trail through the centre leading to one of the shooting victims.

A tweet on an account for Bedford Centre said: "Bedford are investigating this horrific incident. We will release a statement as soon as we have more information."

In another tweet it said: "No stores were involved. Shootout between SBV and robbers."