Shani’s restaurant stabbing: Woman charged over Napier incident

A woman has been charged over the stabbing that seriously injured a man at Shani’s Family Eatery and Bar in Taradale, Napier on Wednesday night.

A police spokesman said they responded to a person stabbed at the establishment on Gloucester Street on Wednesday night.

“The offender was restrained prior to police arrival,” the spokesman said.

“This was an isolated incident and no further people were injured.”

Police respond to reports of a serious assault at Shani's Family Eatery and Bar in Taradale, Napier. Photo / Connull Lang

A police spokesman said on Thursday a 24-year-old woman had been remanded in custody and was due to reappear in Napier District Court on Wednesday, January 17 on charges of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

A Hato Hone St John spokesman said a person was assessed at the scene and was taken to Hawke’s Bay Hospital in a serious condition.

A Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand Hawke’s Bay spokeswoman said a man in his 30s was discharged from Hawke’s Bay Hospital on Thursday morning.

Restaurant owner Shani Ehlers said the incident was “an internal family matter” and declined to comment further out of respect for the family’s space and privacy.

Witnesses near the scene said five to six police vehicles and two ambulances responded.

A Hawke’s Bay Today reporter at the scene said police spoke with people outside and walked through the restaurant.

Patrons from upstairs who were leaving the venue said they didn’t see anything and declined to comment further.

The officer in charge on the scene declined to comment on what happened.

Shani’s is a popular family restaurant that has its headquarters in Taradale, with other smaller establishments across Hawke’s Bay.

The outside of the Gloucester St restaurant was the scene of a gang confrontation in 2020 after Mongrel Mob members booked a 60-person gathering inside without telling restaurant staff who they were.

Rival Black Power members met them on the road as a brawl broke out, before a vehicle jumped the kerb, crossed over a footpath and began travelling on the wrong side of the road, heading in the direction of the crowd.

At least one shot was fired from a gun during the commotion, with one 25-year-old man seriously injured by a gunshot and a pellet striking the back of a child’s car seat while a child was sitting in it.

James Pocock joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2021 and writes breaking news and features, with a focus on environmental, local government and post-cyclone issues in the region. He has a keen interest in finding the bigger picture in research and making it more accessible to audiences. He lives in Napier. Email him at: james.pocock@nzme.co.nz.