Dunedin stabbing: Five injured in attack at New Zealand supermarket

Four people have been injured, three critically, after a stabbing attack at a supermarket in the New Zealand city of Dunedin.

Police said a suspect had been arrested and taken into custody after the incident at a Countdown supermarket on Monday afternoon. Two supermarket staff members were among those injured.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the motivation for the attack had not been established but police did not have any evidence to suggest it was domestic terrorism.

“Needless to say that such an attack is hugely concerning, and I do want to acknowledge the really early reports of courageous acts by bystanders who have taken action in order to protect those around them,” Ardern said. “Our thoughts are with all those affected by this attack.”

The local district health board said five people had been taken to hospital following the attack, with three people admitted to intensive care. Police said four people had been seriously injured and that the suspect had also been taken to hospital with minor injuries and would appear in court on Tuesday.

“This was a fast-moving and extremely traumatic event for every person in that supermarket – the victims who were injured, those present who tried to intervene and those who had to flee to a place of safety,” Superintendent Paul Basham said in a statement.

“While we are satisfied we have the person responsible in our custody, we are in the very early stages of our investigation into the circumstances.”

He said the attack appeared to be random.

“This includes understanding the motivation for this attack which will be a key component of the investigation. However, on the face of what we currently know, we believe this was a random attack.”

People in the store at the time told local media that it was a chaotic scene as people began screaming and running toward the exits. They said some brave shoppers had tried to stop the man and pin him down.

One witness at the supermarket told the news outlet Stuff: “It just sounded like someone fell over and then screaming got louder and louder. We walked past the aisle and we heard someone say, ‘he has got a knife’, so we just kept moving forward.” Another said the man appeared to be having a psychotic episode.

“We are shocked and devastated by the events in our Dunedin Central Store this afternoon,” Countdown said in a statement. “Our priority right now is our injured team members and caring for our wider team in the wake of this extremely traumatic event. We are deeply upset that customers who tried to help our team members were also injured.”