Woman allegedly pulls knife on schoolgirl in central Dunedin

Police talk to people at the scene in George St this afternoon. Photo / Stephen Jaquiery, ODT

A woman has been arrested after making threats and allegedly pulling a knife on a schoolgirl during an altercation in central Dunedin this afternoon.

A police spokeswoman said said officers responded to reports of a verbal threats and had taken someone into custody in relation to the incident that happened opposite the Meridian Mall entrance on George St about 5pm.

Nobody was injured in the incident, the policewoman said.

Several police vehicles were visible at the scene.

Otago Girls’ High School pupil Indira Bignell (14) said she had called police.

“She tried to stab one of my best friends and attacked a little kid,” she said.

Two 13-year-old Dunedin North Intermediate School pupils said the woman had thrown a cigarette at them and told them they should start smoking.

One of the pupils said the woman told him he should date her 21-year-old daughter.

The incident left him “weirded out”, the pupil said, and the two of them went inside the nearby McDonald’s restaurant to get away from her.

OGHS pupil Kaitlyn Sim (14) said she had been at the centre of the altercation.

“She pulled the knife in front of my face, I tried to grab it. She shoved me, I pushed her back,” she said.

The woman had also talked about wanting to blow people up. The knife was a bread knife, but it had been serrated and sharp, Sim said.

Another OGHS pupil, Claire Bevin (14), said the woman had also been asking random passersby if they had a gun.