The hunt is on for several gunmen, following a dramatic shootout and car chase in Fourways, north of Johannesburg on Wednesday.

It appears it all started with an attempted robbery in the Fourways Mall.

Security guards have cornered off a section of the parking lot near entrance one of the mall.

It appears the suspected robbers tried to rob one of the stores at the mall before fleeing down William Nicol Drive in the direction of Diepsloot.

The gunmen were driving a blue BMW and were involved in a shootout with police.

The suspected robbers allegedly crashed their getaway car and began to flee on foot.

Reports of injuries or murder have yet to come through.

Several witnesses told Eyewitness News what they saw.

One man said he heard several shots go off.

"I heard four gun shots from a hand gun, then a pause of about 15 seconds. Then three shots, then a pause of a couple of seconds, then another shot."

One woman said she heard a "huge bang, a huge accident. There was firing immediately. I looked out the window and there were about seven cop cars.

"I could see a big bag that looked like a money bag or something."