Christchurch woman captures moment of masked figures’ MetroMart smash-and-grab

A woman watched in shock as a group of masked looters smashed their way into a Christchurch store.

The woman told the Herald that she was about to start her cafe shift yesterday morning when she noticed a commotion at the MetroMart in the Bush Inn shopping centre in Riccarton.

Sitting in her car, she watched as the masked figures, who had already entered the store, raided the shelves.

The robbery had already triggered the store’s fog cannons by the time she arrived.

“I am literally witnessing a ram raid right now ... good morning!” she said in the video.

The group was shown lugging items into their getaway car as smoke engulfed the store.

The woman, who did not wish to be named, remained calm throughout the incident and attempted to avoid drawing attention to herself.

Police said they were notified at 6.30am of a break-in at a store in the Bush Inn shopping centre.

“The initial information is that the offender/s smashed the glass storefront to get in.

“The store’s fog cannon activated and it’s unclear if the offender/s actually managed to take anything.”

Katie Oliver is a live news reporter and multimedia journalist based in Christchurch.