Countdown rep overwhelmed with emotion when speaking about 'traumatic' Dunedin stabbing
Tuesday, 11 May 2021
A top Countdown representative broke down in tears when describing the aftermath of a “harrowing” stabbing at a Dunedin supermarket and the trauma her staff have gone through.
Four people were injured, three critically and one seriously, in a random attack at a central Dunedin Countdown supermarket on Monday afternoon.
Two staff members have undergone surgery overnight, following the stabbing at the store.
A 42-year-old man is allegedly responsible for carrying out the knife-wielding rampage and has been charged with attempting to murder four people.
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It is understood some victims were repeatedly stabbed and one woman received cuts to her hands. Stuff also understands another victim had to be revived inside the supermarket.
On Tuesday, three of the injured were described as being in a serious but stable condition. A fourth person was in a moderate condition.
When speaking to media on Tuesday morning, general manager of safety at Countdown Kiri Hannifin broke down in tears as she described the trauma staff went through.
Two Countdown senior staff members of the Dunedin store had undergone surgery and had been moved to intensive care, Hannifin said.
“They are OK, I’m very relieved to report,” she told RNZ's Morning Report.
Hannifin told TVNZ’s Breakfast that it was a “harrowing” event.
When speaking about the CCTV video of the attack, Hannifin said it was “completely overwhelming” as well has “traumatic and horrific”. But she said the video also showed the bravery of customers in the store who intervened to help save the lives of store staff.
Hannifin broke down in tears while speaking to Breakfast, saying, staff were like family and cared deeply for each other.
“These are people's dads and mums and sisters… it’s awful.”
When speaking to RNZ, Hannifin described it as a terrible day, and said support would be offered to staff.
“It was a really, incredibly traumatic and terrifying event,” she said.
Hannifin told RNZ that the number of threats, assaults and verbal abuse towards supermarket staff was a “a real problem”.
“We’re concerned about both the frequency and the severity of assaults in our stores.”
In Australia, Woolworths was trialling body cameras which aimed to help protect staff from abuse. Hannifin told Newshub that so far the trial has been successful across the ditch, deterring assaults and de-escalating events.
“We will absolutely look to trial that in New Zealand in our most sort of high-risk stores,” she told Newshub.
Police were still working to understand the motivations for the Dunedin stabbing, but they believed it was a “random attack”, describing it as “fast-moving and extremely traumatic” for everyone at the supermarket.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday that there was nothing to suggest it was a domestic terror event.