A police officer outside the Post Shop/Kiwi Bank after a robbery, in Kilbirnie. Credit:NZPA / Ross Setford.
A man, who only wanted to be known as Walt, was sitting outside the shop in a parked car when he saw a man in the bank with a bag in one hand and a shot gun in the other, he told NZPA.
There were quite a few people in the shop at the time and they were down on the ground, he said.
A local resident, who did not want to be named, said three young men with balaclavas attempted to rob the shop but had run away.
Wellington police spokeswoman Kaye Calder told NZPA police were at scene but no further details were available.
