Auckland stabbing accused on EM bail

A 24-year-old man facing multiple charges after two people were stabbed in an Auckland dairy on Thursday was on electronically monitored bail at the time.

He is charged with two counts of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and one count of resisting police.

Prosecutor Sam Papp told an Auckland District Court hearing yesterday police wanted media to publish the fact that police had opposed granting him electronic bail earlier this year for another matter.

Papp said he had taken off his electronic monitoring bracelet prior to the incident.

Judge Kevin Glubb granted the man interim name suppression and remanded him in custody until his next appearance.

A man and a woman were stabbed in the attack at the New Windsor Dairy and Lotto shop on New Windsor Rd at 10.41am Thursday.

The man is still in hospital in a serious condition while the woman has been released from hospital.

Detective Inspector Glenn Baldwin said members of the public helped arrest a man at the scene.

“A number of people intervened and managed to apprehend and restrain the alleged offender until police arrived and took him into custody,” he said.

On Thursday police spent the day at the dairy, cordoning off the block of shops on the corner of Maioro St and

He’s a very calm, softspoken guy, and he would probably give away [a shop item] rather than going into trouble [over it].

Dairy owner’s neighbour

New Windsor Rd.

A neighbour said the dairy owner had long feared they would be attacked despite installing fog cannons and other security.

“He always had this fear he would get into this problem sometime because he had kids and gangsters approaching in that manner often,” the neighbour, who did not want to be named, said.

“[For it] to happen to him is unbelievable because he’s a very calm, soft-spoken guy, and he would probably give away [a shop item] rather than going into trouble [over it].”

The owners were well-known and respected members of the Indian and wider community, he said, and bought the shop a few years ago from previous owners Shashikant and Damyanti Prema, who were attacked in 2008 when a teenage boy allegedly stormed inside and stabbed the owner. Shashikant Prema was taken to hospital with stab wounds to his neck and back and was left with a punctured lung and nerve damage in his left arm.

Dairy and Business Owners’ Group chairman Sunny Kaushal said news of the attack was “heartbreaking”.

“We have already had deaths in our industry, and we were fearing more violence because the Government is failing to take any action. New Zealanders are sick and tired of the lawlessness.”

Prime Minister and Labour leader Chris Hipkins said the attack was “utterly unacceptable”.

“People should be safe in their businesses. I’m going to back the police completely . . . and where necessary, we are changing the law to be able to give the police more tools to do that,” Hipkins said.

Police and Justice Minister Ginny Andersen called the attack a “completely abhorrent act of violence”.

Police will have an increased presence in the area in coming days to reassure the community.