Manhunt underway after what’s believed to be a stabbing at a bus station in Albany. Video / NZ Herald
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
A 16-year-old has been arrested and charged with murder after a person was killed in an attack at Albany bus station yesterday.
A homicide investigation was launched yesterday after the victim, who was transported to Auckland Hospital in a critical condition, later died from theirinjuries.
Police travelled to Hamilton last night and arrested the 16-year-old with the assistance of Waikato CIB, Detective Inspector Callum McNeill said.
Albany councillor John Watson said the incident at a busy location in broad daylight would unsettle many people, especially because the public transport network was considered safe.
“There is a general sense that things are cracking up in some quarters, and there are specific incidents like this that show that to be true,” he said. “When you get something like what happened today, that shakes people.”
McNeill also stressed that the incident appeared to be isolated, saying: “We know the community will be understandably alarmed by what has occurred today.”
Police document evidence at the scene of a violent attack in Albany that claimed a person's life. Photo / Dean Purcell
The attack took place in front of other commuters, and one other person received minor injuries. A visibly shocked young female witness was led away by police yesterday afternoon.
James Stock, a university student, said he arrived at the Park and Ride soon after the alleged attack took place and overheard a police officer describing it as a stabbing.
There appeared to be people receiving medical attention, possibly while lying on the ground, he said.
“There was some blood on the ground … near a crossing,” he said. “Medics and others seemed to be surrounding a few people, treating them.
“People were confused, just coming up and saying, ‘What is happening?’ I was just trying to get to uni - this is not what I expected.”
Police warned people to stay away from the area while they sought the alleged attacker. Police officers were guarding the scene overnight and commuters were redirected to adjoining roads to catch outgoing buses or get to their cars.
Forensic investigators centred their attention on an area next to a bus shelter, where blood appeared to be smeared on the glass. Blood stains could also be seen near a pedestrian crossing about five metres away.
Blood appeared to be smeared across the glass at the Albany bus station. Photo / Dean Purcell
Police also cordoned off an area outside a restaurant 150 metres away. A police officer at the scene said they could not say whether it was related to the bus station attack.
A shop owner nearby said they had been asked for CCTV of the car park outside the restaurant, and they believed the bus shelter attacker may have fled through the area.
Another worker in the area said they believed police were searching for a weapon from the original attack, possibly a knife. Officers were seen nearby looking into storm drains and in bushes.
National Party police spokesman Mark Mitchell, who was campaigning nearby when the attack took place, said it was a disturbing incident for commuters to witness.
Police investigate an attack at the Albany bus station that left a person dead. Photo / Dean Purcell
“This is just happening way too much,” he said, noting that there had been a bus station attack involving a knife in Silverdale earlier in the year.
Around the same time as the Albany incident, police were called to Waterview after an incident left one person needing to be hospitalised. Police later arrested a person, and said those involved were known to each other.
Media reported the Waterview incident was another stabbing.
There have also been a series of aggravated robberies and attacks in the city in recent weeks, many of them in public spaces. Police are still seeking those responsible.
Four robberies carried out by a group of attackers, some armed with guns, hammers and crowbars, took place over three nights in Mt Albert and Pt Chevalier last week, including one in which a bar worker had a gun held to her head by intruders who forced her to her knees and demanded she open a time-delayed safe.
Police are still searching for those responsible for two separate homicides in August.
Dariush Talagi, 24, is wanted by police for murder over a shooting on Auckland's Queen St on August 3. Photo / Supplied
Charles Pongi, a patched Headhunter, was shot at a Pt England park and later died from his injuries. One person was arrested after the attack, but no charges have been laid in relation to Pongi’s death.
Last week prominent Auckland businessman and Precinct Properties boss Scott Pritchard called for more police in downtown Auckland to address spiralling crime.
