A dairy owner is recovering from serious injuries after he was attacked by a man who fashioned a weapon out of a walking stick.
The violent incident unfolded on Saturday morning when the alleged attacker entered a Waihi business wielding a stick with a blade tied to it.
The shopkeeper’s wife told the Herald her husband was then accosted by the man, who struck him from behind as he reached to set off the fog cannon.
“We are traumatised, my husband is in a lot of pain,” she said.
“The man is one of our regular customers. He was wearing only black pants, nothing on top and no mask. He had some kind of weapon, like something sharp tied to a wooden stick,” she said.
Her husband was attending to another customer at the counter of their Tauranga Rd business when the man stood in front, she said.
“He grabbed my husband, shook him, my husband turned around to reach for the fog cannon alarm, and the man hit him on the back.”
The wife said at first they did not pay attention to the injury but later discovered it could have been “fatal”.
“My husband got discharged from the hospital now, he is resting at home. He got three stitches, it could have been worse for the spine.”
She said they were traumatised by the “unprovoked and random” attack.
“But we have a strong community here they did not like what happened and have been very supportive.”
A woman whose son works at the dairy shop told the Herald he was half an hour away from starting his shift when he got told by his boss not to come in.
He later went to visit the owners after learning of the attack.
“My son told me a local man who had been at the shop before and was known to them. He came in on the day and he had a cane or a walking stick and attached to it on the end was a knife.
“So this man went on the counter grabbed the worker, pulled him closer and shoved the knife right in. It was a pretty long-range weapon, the knife went pretty much right in, and it was a good 7-10 cm.
“It didn’t get any of his major organs, just missed lung from his back, from what I know.
“He is just very traumatised and in a lot of pain.”
The woman said the Indian community from Auckland had come down to support the worker who was now at home.
The shopkeeper’s wife said police came within seven minutes of the call and the man was arrested nearby.
A police spokesperson said a man was taken into custody on Saturday following two assaults and disorderly behaviour in Waihi.
Officers responded to reports of a man with a weapon (not a firearm) in Waihi around 11am.
“It appears the person was involved in two assaults and wilful damage to two residential properties.
“One person received minor to moderate injuries and one person received moderate to serious injuries after being assaulted at two separate locations in Waihi.
“Reports of wilful damage included a broken window and a broken security camera from an object thrown.”
The police spokesperson said the man was arrested at the intersection of Gilmour St and Johnston St around 11.30am after attempting to flee police on foot.
“The 24-year-old is due to appear in Hamilton District Court next week. Charges are being considered.”
Akula Sharma is an Auckland-based reporter who joined the Herald in 2022. She has previously worked at the Gisborne Herald.