A 27 year-old man who stepped in to stop a man running off with thousands of dollars of jewellery from a Sylvia Park shop this morning was allegedly hit in the face with a hammer and has since received dozens of stitches.
A 22 year-old man was later arrested at the shopping centre and will appear in the Auckland District Court tomorrow charged with aggravated wounding and shoplifting.
Detective Sergeant Nick Poland from the Auckland City Crime Squad says, had it not been for the injured man's intervention, it's possible the alleged offender would have left the scene with nearly $40,000 of jewellery.
"After he was hit, the injured man desisted and others took over the chase resulting in up to six people detaining the accused until Police arrived a few minutes later.
"The shop owner and staff are very thankful to all those who helped arrest the alleged offender at 9.30 this morning. It's very unfortunate that the first man to assist the robbery victims was so severely injured. Victim Support has been engaged to assist him and his family who are understandably distressed by the morning's events.
"Attending officers have praised those who helped out and would like to speak to any of them who left before Police had a chance to get their names and contact details. These people are encouraged to contact Detective Constable Alex Lawton on 09 302 6557."
ENDS
Issued by Noreen Hegarty, Auckland City Police communications manager.