NZ Police praise employees who detained knifeman
Employees at a Countdown supermarket in Dunedin are being praised for their bravery, after a man went on a stabbing attack in the store.
Four people have been critically injured in the attack which took place on Monday May 10th, including staff members. Speaking to the media, New Zealand Police Superintendent Paul Basham had nothing but praise for employees on site, claiming their actions were “nothing short of heroic”.
Speaking to The Press Association, Basham added: “What I can say is that those that intervened, some of whom became injured themselves, I think have acted selflessly and with great courage to prevent this man from hurting anybody else.”
Police are describing the attack as “random”, adding that there’s nothing at this stage to suggest a domestic terror event.
Speaking to local media, one woman described the scene: "We just heard a scream and thought someone must've fallen, but it got louder and louder and more people were screaming. I saw one red hand among the people; a bloody hand, and everybody started running towards the exits."
After the event, Countdown’s press team released a statement expressing how "shocked and devastated” they were by the turn of events.
"Our priority right now is our injured team members and caring for our wider team in the wake of this extremely traumatic event," it read.
"We are deeply upset that customers who tried to help our team members were also injured."
