Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has faced questions after a shopkeeper was fatally stabbed during an armed robbery in her Auckland electorate.
A male offender, who has evaded police so far, entered the Rose Cottage Superette in Sandringham yesterday evening and allegedly killed the newly-married shopkeeper who was on site.
The dairy was inside Ardern’s Mt Albert electorate, which she said was particularly sad.
“It is devastating to see what has happened,” Ardern said.
She acknowledged the family members of the man who was killed and said the dairy was well-supported by the local community, which she was a part of.
The Government has regularly been criticised by the National and Act parties for not delivering stronger consequences to young offenders.
It followed a spate of ram raids and aggravated robberies earlier this year, which prompted the creation of a fund to support installation of security measures for small retailers.
Ardern said the focus of the police was apprehending the offender, referencing their call for help from the community.
She would receive updated briefings as a local member of parliament.
She said ram raids had been the focus in recent times but that there was “grave concern” regarding aggravated robberies.
Ministers were continually talking about how they could support police and business owners in preventing crime, she said.
Ardern said the most important thing today was to acknowledge the man’s family and make sure police are as well supported as possible, to ensure “justice is done”.
Asked whether she was soft on crime, Ardern said she had disagreed with that consistently.
She referenced the penalties for crimes such as aggravated robberies.
Ardern said there was already a heightened focus on these events.
She had discussed with Justice Minister Kiri Allan and Minister for Social Development Carmel Sepuloni what gaps there were in the system and how they could be addressed to target offenders appropriately.
Ardern said she shopped at a different local store in the Auckland suburb but said the dairy where the attack and robbery took place was close by.
She said she was aware of community members who worked to support local businesses.
It comes as Ardern published a message on social media concerning the man’s death, saying “no one should have to confront such senseless violence or crime”.
“To the family who today mourns their lost loved one - I am so sorry this has happened,” she wrote.
Police were called to the store at the intersection of Haverstock Rd and Fowlds Ave at 8.05pm yesterday after an offender entered the shop armed with a knife and took the cash register.
“We are still working to establish exactly what took place, but at some point during the incident the dairy worker was allegedly stabbed,” police said in a statement to media last night.
The worker suffered critical injuries and was transported to hospital but died a short time later.
