Edgecumbe dairy owner shot with BB gun chases would-be robber

The dairy today following last night's attempted robbery. Photo/Katee Shanks

Edgecumbe's Main St Superette owner Harjinder Kaur was "shaking like a leaf" hours after she and her husband Satinder Singh had a gun pointed at them during an attempted aggravated robbery.

Kaur said the pair were seated behind the counter of the dairy they have owned since 2006 when a man with his face covered came into the store about 6.30pm last night.

"He put a bag on the counter and demanded we put something into it," Kaur said. "I don't think myself or my husband actually know what he wanted."

Singh bolted up from his chair and grabbed a bat about the same time the offender shot him with an air gun.

"He was standing in the gap of the counter and kind of crouched down a little bit before firing the gun," Kaur said.

Singh was hit at the top of his sternum and bottom of his neck with a pellet from what police have described as a BB gun.

"It didn't really stop him though. He chased the man out of the shop and across the road to the riverbank still holding the bat."

Once he had returned to the store Singh pulled the pellet out. He was treated by ambulance staff at the scene but according to Kaur, was back at work today.

She was still talking to a 111 operator when the first police car pulled up.

"They must have been nearby as they got here so quickly."

The Edgecumbe Police Station is around the corner from the dairy.

Nothing was taken in the attempted robbery.

Police have described the man as wearing dark clothing, a red cap and white shoes. A second man acting as a look-out was wearing a blue shirt.

Both men, believed to be under 20, ran across the road in the direction of the stop bank. A police dog was used to track the men but they were not found.

Kaur said she understood the BB gun had been recovered.

Edgecumbe residents had been in and out of the store today asking if the owners were okay and offering help. A composed Kaur said the doors were opened at the normal time and she wasn't afraid any more.

"This is the second time people have tried to rob us. The first time was in December last year and nothing was taken that time either."

Whakatane Senior Sergeant Mark van der Kley asks anyone who saw the two men to contact Whakatane police on (07) 308 5255.