North Shore Bottle-O targeted in robbery, worker injured, before alleged offenders flee on bus

Police took four people into custody last night after they allegedly robbed a North Shore liquor store.

The owner of a North Shore liquor store targeted by four alleged robbers says his worker tried to stop them, chasing the group as they tried to flee with beer and suffered a gash from a machete.

Four people were arrested, and two were charged after police tracked the bus the four escaped on to Britomart from the store on Sunnynook Rd, Sunnynook.

Waitematā East Area Commander, Inspector Mike Rickards, said two people were found in possession of machetes.

He said three people entered the store at 8.40pm.

The owner of the store told the Herald his worker chased the alleged thieves out of the store and when he approached them, they swung the machete and cut his hand.

The owner said he went to the hospital and had to get stitches.

“It was terrible.”

He said this was the first time his store had been targeted by this sort of crime and it made him realise they needed to be “more careful”.

A police spokesperson said two people took a box of beer each.

Rickards said the shopkeeper attempted to intervene but was confronted by the offenders and “additional associates”.

“The employee sustained minor injuries,” Rickards said.

Police tracked the bus to Britomart before they were able to arrest them.

Two boxes of beer were taken from the Bottle-O before the four people made their getaway on a bus. Photo / Google Maps

Two people were allegedly found in possession of machetes, Rickards said.

An Auckland Transport spokesperson said police boarded a bus at 9.15pm to search for the group, but found they had already got off.

The spokesperson said the group was later found on the street.

Photos posted to social media showed police swarming lower Queen St, with at least seven police cars and many officers on the scene.

A red CityLink bus can be seen blocked by the patrol cars.

A machete with a black handle is pictured lying on the footpath.

A machete was seen lying on the group near an officers feet during the arrest.

In one image, a man in a white singlet can be seen sitting on a bench in handcuffs while police speak to him.

Rickards said a 22-year-old has been charged with shoplifting and is due to appear in North Shore District Court today.

A 17-year-old was charged with breach of bail.

It comes just a month after a man was charged after two “unprovoked” stabbings on an Auckland bus that left one man dead.

The stabbings took place on Auckland Transport’s No 76 bus as it travelled from Glen Innes towards Ōrakei on December 8.

The man appeared in court on December 10, charged with the murder of “gentle giant” Sefo Leger and wounding a second passenger.

Leger managed to get off the bus but died in hospital from his injuries. The suspected attacker stayed on the bus and allegedly attacked another man, who later needed surgery on his hand.

If convicted, the defendant could face up to 14 years in prison on the wounding charge and life imprisonment on the charge of murder.