A Diorella Drive Superette worker in South Auckland said he was injured with a screwdriver during a confrontation with a group of teenagers who allegedly stole cookies and brownies from the store on Wednesday.
He and another worker told The New Zealand Herald that one teen was armed with a screwdriver and another with a knife. A member of the public who witnessed the attack from his car reportedly intervened.
Police said six teenagers—five girls and one boy, aged between 13 and 16—were involved in the incident at Diorella Drive Superette in Clover Park. Five girls were referred to Youth Aid, while a 16-year-old boy was arrested and charged with assault with a weapon.
The worker sustained a minor stab wound to his left shoulder during a confrontation outside the store. Police responded to reports of shoplifting and assault at around 10.40am.
Hato Hone St John was notified of the incident at 10.51am and responded with one ambulance. One patient was assessed and treated at the scene for a minor condition.
The worker told The New Zealand Herald that his wife, who was in the store at the time, saw the group stealing “cookies and brownies and all that” and called him, then alerted police. When he arrived, he found the teens waiting at a bus stop nearby. After he asked what they had stolen, he said the teens swore at him, used racial slurs, and one stabbed him with a weapon.
He said he avoided further injury thanks to a regular customer who happened to be passing by and stepped in, grabbing and restraining the boy with the knife until police arrived and made the arrests.
Despite the incident, the injured worker said he continued working at the store later that afternoon