Auckland library lockdown: Knife dropped near mums and babies, man arrested

A woman has described the terrifying moment an erratic man with a knife allegedly menaced mums and babies at Te Atatū Peninsula Library and Community Hub Photos / 123RF / Google Streetview

• A man acting erratically at Te Atatū Peninsula Library and Community Hub dropped a knife near mums and babies during a Wriggle and Rhyme session.
• The library locked down as police responded, arresting the man after chasing him around the building, a witness says.
• A concerned mother fears returning without security measures in place at the library, but Auckland Council say staff are trained to deal with emergencies.

A man acting erratically at an Auckland public library made an ominous comment before a knife fell from his pocket a metre from where babies and their mothers were playing on Monday, sparking a lockdown and police response, one mum says.

The woman – who is now afraid to return to the site unless a security guard is hired – was with her 11-month-old son at a Wriggle and Rhyme session inside Te Atatū Peninsula Library and Community Hub when the behaviour of a man caught her attention.

“He was pacing and then he started dancing and jumping up and down, yelling nonsense and muttering all sorts of things.

“I heard him say, ‘Your kids don’t want to be held by you’. Then this really sharp knife fell out of his pocket next to me … about a metre away. I felt sick to my stomach because I wasn’t holding my son at that moment.”

About 20 to 30 mum and baby pairs were taking part in Wriggle and Rhyme at the time, a programme promoting active movement and brain development in under 2s.

However, not all were immediately aware of the danger, said the woman, who asked not to be named.

The red-handled knife was about 15 to 20cm long and briefly lay untouched after the man walked away, before he returned and put it in his pocket, she said.

She was afraid to grab the knife in case it further aggravated the man.

“I was freaking out, but I remained calm because I didn’t want him to see my panic, and I didn’t want to cause a panic ... it was terrifying.”

After picking up her son the woman moved away, approaching the library staffer taking the session at the end of the song so as not to frighten others.

“I said, ‘That guy that was dancing weirdly, a knife fell out of his pocket’.”

Fortunately the man went outside and began trying to block the library door, giving staff the opportunity to lock him out.

The man, who she estimated was aged about 30, continued to act erratically.

“He started doing the haka outside and then all of a sudden he got down on his knees and was praying.

“And then he got up and was yelling … some of the mums said he was yelling scary stuff and directing it at the mums’ [Wriggle and Rhyme] group.”

Twenty to 30 mums and their babies were taking part in a Wriggle and Rhyme session when a man dropped a knife near them at Te Atatū Peninsula Library and Community Hub on Monday. Photo / Google Streetview

Police – including dog squad staff – arrived and those trapped inside the library watched as the man tried to evade capture by sprinting around outside the locked library while holding the knife.

The man discarded the knife before being caught by police, who could then be seen searching for the weapon, the woman said.

Police confirmed they went to Te Atatū Peninsula at 11.40am on Monday after being told there was a man with a weapon near the library.

“The library self-initiated a lock down as a precaution”, a police spokesperson said.

“The male was located a short distance away and taken into custody without issue.”

The police response to an incident involving a knife at Te Atatū Peninsula Library in Auckland on Monday included the dog squad.

Adrenaline kept her calm during the incident, but when the woman called her sister after arriving home she burst into tears.

“As soon as I started explaining it to her I just started crying.”

Library staff had handled the situation well, walking people to their cars afterward and telling them about Victim Support, she said.

But the Te Atatū South woman was concerned there was no security guard at the library, which is in the same building as the peninsula’s community centre.

The centre was the site of a Destiny Church-linked protest over a drag science show for kids during Pride Week in February, during which about 30 kids and adults had to be barricaded inside after protesters allegedly tried to force their way into the venue.

Police subsequently charged several people with a range of offences, including assault and indecent assault.

Destiny Church groups Man Up and Legacy Sisterhood protest against a children's library drag event at Te Atatū Community Centre in February.

That made Monday’s occurrence the second concerning incident at the Auckland Council-owned public spaces, the woman said.

“They need security, not just for us, but staff as well. This guy could’ve gone on some kind of rampage … he was clearly not in his right mind.”

Her son loved Wriggle and Rhyme but she was now “scared and hesitant” to return in case the man had been released “because he wasn’t able to hurt anyone”.

“He might come back, [and] it felt like he was targeting the mums’ group.”

An Auckland mum is afraid to return to Wriggle and Rhyme sessions after an erratic man with a knife allegedly menaced mums and babies at Te Atatū Peninsula Library on Monday. Photo / 123RF

An Auckland Council leader confirmed a man not known to staff was behaving erratically in the Te Atatū Peninsula Library and Community Hub on Monday.

“While he did not directly threaten customers or staff, a knife fell out of his pocket, which prompted the man to pick it up and run out of the library“, said Darryl Soljan, the council’s head of community delivery for north and west.

Staff were trained to deal with emergencies, he said.

“Our library and hub team at Te Atatū managed this incident extremely well, following security procedures and taking immediate action to lockdown the library for a short time to protect customers and staff as a precaution.”

The library was then closed for the rest of the day “to allow staff and security to debrief”.

The council was now working with police to support their investigations and is trespassing the man from the site, Soljan said.

Staff offered all those in the library support, but if anyone needed further help he encouraged them to contact the library.

Cherie Howie is an Auckland-based reporter who joined the Herald in 2011. She has been a journalist for more than 20 years and specialises in general news and features.