Brother wants to thank a stabbing ‘hero’

The brother of a prison guard stabbed in the neck during a rampage at a Dunedin supermarket wants to thank the ‘‘hero’’ who saved his life.

A Corrections officer at Otago Corrections Facility and his wife were among four people who received serious knife wounds during the attack at Countdown Dunedin Central on Monday.

It is believed he was stabbed in the neck and his wife in the back.

His brother, Alfredo Fuenzalida, told The Press the couple were ‘‘pulling through quite well’’. ‘‘They’re both out of any danger and are on the road to recovery . . . They both will be fine.’’

Jenny McDowell, who was shopping at the store when the attack happened, earlier said a Countdown employee used his jersey to apply pressure to the Corrections officer’s neck to help stem the flow of blood.

Fuenzalida, also a Corrections officer, wanted to thank the supermarket employee who saved his brother’s life and called him a ‘‘hero’’.

He spoke briefly to his brother, who had moved to New Zealand from Chile in the 1980s, on Tuesday morning.

‘‘It was a very short conversation – I didn’t want to make him speak that much. He’s just recovering.’’

Fuenzalida said he had found out about the stabbing through his nephew. He then called his brother’s boss to tell him he would not be at work ‘‘anytime soon’’.

He planned to travel from Northland to Dunedin today.

‘‘We were just very concerned when everything happened because we don’t know exactly what happened and how exactly they are, but now at least I know that they will pull through.’’

The police forensic examination finished on Tuesday night.

The car park remained off limits to media as a large number of staff gathered outside the store on yesterday morning.

Countdown did not say when the store would reopen.

‘‘Our focus now is on helping make sure our team’s return to the store is as peaceful and as healing as it can be,’’ spokeswoman Kiri Hannifin said.

‘‘We are working on getting the store back in order, and we will reopen for our local customers when we feel we are ready to do so.’’

A blessing was held by kauma¯ tua Hata Temo for about 50 staff after the store was cleaned by contractors.

First Union retail, finance and commerce secretary Tali Williams said a meeting was held between Countdown, the union and workers.

A decision on when the store would reopen would be made this morning, he said.

All four victims remained in hospital.