Two masked men stormed in to Chicken Wicken in Hillcrest, one armed with a machete while the other appeared to take off with the cash register. Video / Supplied
A Hamilton chicken shop has been targeted by machete-wielding robbers twice in two days, with thousands of dollars stolen and the owner left in fear.
CCTV footage sent to the Herald showed two hooded men wearing surgical masks storming into the Chicken Wicken store in Hillcrest, Hamilton, early thismorning, with one brandishing a machete at one of the workers.
His accomplice can be seen taking a broom from the worker and throwing it across the shop before both charge towards the counter.
The man wearing a machete throws and smashes an item, while the other tears the cash register away and both flee the store.
Chicken Wicken co-owner Chirag Chadha said this and a similar incident earlier this week has left him scared and sleepless.
“It makes me feel scared, makes me feel like am I really doing the right thing to even having the business because it is threatening human safety,” Chadha said.
The co-owner of Chicken Wicken said recent attacks on his Hillcrest store have left him scared and sleepless. Photo / Supplied
“We haven’t got any sleep from last two nights, we’ve just been running between stores, our staff feel very threatened and we have no answers for them, like what we can do, so it is quite scary.”
Chadha told the Herald this is the 10th time something like this has happened in the four years he’s co-owned the business, with one of the last times being at Christmas when staff were able to chase robbers out of the store.
He said $4400 had been stolen from the Hillcrest store this week, and the business had been facing some hardship because of a quiet summer.
Chadha said business was starting to pick up with schools and universities starting up again, but incidents like this force them to shut for at least a day.
“We can even just take a breath, we are not doing anything wrong, we’re just doing our living and this is all happening to us.”
The co-owner said he feared a further attack was likely to occur and that those targeting the store were “not afraid of anyone”.
Police said they were making inquiries after two aggravated robberies in two nights at the same Hillcrest premises.
Officers were called to the Vesty Ave address about 2.15am after two masked offenders entered the store and demanded cash, said a spokesperson.
Staff had been called to the same address the previous night around 12.30am after two offenders matching a similar description had entered and also made demands from staff.
The spokesperson said police would like to hear from anyone with information about either incident.
