A group of teens allegedly attempted to rob a liqour store, hurling abuse and threatening staff members. Photo / Supplied
A group of teens allegedly attempted to rob a liqour store, hurling abuse and threatening staff members. Photo / Supplied
A young woman who attempted to rob a Rotorua liquor store on Tuesday has returned today and allegedly punched a staff member in a pre-meditated attack.
On Tuesday three teens entered a Rotorua Bottle-O on two occasions, hurling abuse and threatening staff while trying to allegedly steal goods.
But one of the teens has since returned to the store, allegedly punching and kicking a staff member before taunting them in what is being described as a gutless attack.
Bottle-O store owner Dillon told the Herald the woman shouted, "You can't have me arrested" before taking on the store worker.
A group of teens allegedly attempted to rob a liqour store, hurling abuse and threatening staff members. Photo / Supplied
"One of the girls from yesterday came into the store today and attacked our staff. She started yelling at everyone saying, 'They can't arrest me'," Dillon said.
"She then started punching my staff and kicking them and yelling, 'You can't arrest me. I'm Māori, this is my own land'.
"We had to lock the doors and call the police, who arrived 15 minutes later."
Footage of yesterday's attempted robbery was caught on CCTV and shows two people, one male and one female, threatening staff members who denied them the sale of alcohol.
Dillon said the girls forced their way into the store after being denied entry due to their age.
Once in the store, the girls allegedly attempted to steal goods and threatened to attack a staff member behind the counter.
The man can be seen getting in the face of the store worker, accusing staff of hitting his sister.
"He came charging in and started shouting, 'Why did you hit my sister?'. We told him we never touched her, which the video backs up, but he just started swearing, saying, 'You bloody hit my sister'.
"After I saw it unfolding I came into the store and the guy quickly left. Then he came back around 1.30pm and we called the police."
The man in the blue hoodie then hurled abuse at the liquor store worker before eventually leaving. Photo / Supplied
The staff member is "shaken" following the frightening ordeal, according to Dillon.
Following the incident, Dillon believed police could have handled the situation better and hit out at the behaviour of New Zealand youth.
"Police came and took them away and dropped them home. I phoned the police and said that's not good enough.
"New Zealand kids are out of control. Every time this happens, whether it's our store or dairies, the culprits are kids or teens."
Police told the Herald they were aware of the original incident and have yet to comment on today's alleged attack.
Dillon said he understands that the girl has since been taken into custody, although police could not yet confirm that is the case.
A 20-year-old male has been arrested in connection with the incidents and charged with threatening to kill and behaving threateningly. He is due to appear in court today.
