Good Samaritan Kris Snow was left bloodied and bruised after rushing to the aid of a neighbour confronting a young alleged thief.
A Mount Maunganui good Samaritan was left bloodied, bruised and concussed after he was king-hit while helping his neighbour confront an alleged thief.
Mountain biker and Cycle Obsession store owner Kris Snow said he “didn’t see anything coming” when he was struck outside his store at the CentralParade shopping centre last week.
A week later, Snow was still suffering from head-splitting headaches and a suspected broken nose - and waiting for a referral to a concussion specialist.
Snow said he was working at the shop about midday on Wednesday when he heard screaming from outside.
Snow and one of his team members ran out of the shop to see two employees from the bakery next door “having a bit of a tussle” with a young person on a bike.
Both bakery staff members, a brother and sister, were holding on to the bike, preventing him from leaving.
Snow said it appeared the young person had stolen from them.
Kris Snow, owner of Cycle Obsession, was hit from behind when trying to stop young people from allegedly stealing from the bakery next door. Photo / Alex Cairns
Snow said he normally tried to “help out in these situations”, but was unaware the young person was part of a larger group.
“I grabbed on to the bike, so there were three of us holding on to it. I just said to this young fella, ‘Pay the bill and you can leave’.”
Snow said he told the young man police didn’t need to get involved, but that he wasn’t leaving until he’d paid his bill.
“Cars had stopped in the street and everyone was filming.”
Then a second young person grabbed the bike, Snow said.
“I said the same thing: ‘Mate, no one’s leaving until you pay the bill.’”
At this stage, Snow said he realised there were more than two young people involved.
“I couldn’t keep my eye on all of them because there were three different sides.”
Cycle Obsession owner Kris Snow was hit from behind while attempting to stop youths from stealing from the bakery next door to his store. Photo / Alex Cairns
Then, “out of the blue”, Snow was struck in the head.
“I didn’t see anything coming,” Snow said.
“He just ran in from the side and he king-hit me with his fist, and he had a big ring on his finger, and that’s the part that split my face.
“Blood just kept gushing out of my head. I couldn’t see much, and I was just trying to stop the bleeding.”
Snow said the attack brought the incident from “level two to level 10″.
“I think there’s rage out there that this kind of violence is happening.”
Parade Bakery and Cafe was contacted for comment.
In a statement, a police spokesperson said a youth allegedly stole food items from a Mount Maunganui Rd store shortly before midday on October 18.
The spokesperson said the youth was with three other young people.
“The group was stopped by a store owner and other bystanders outside, who attempted to grab the young peoples’ bikes to stop them leaving,” the spokesperson said.
“Two of the adults attempting to stop the young people were assaulted by two of the young people.”
