A New Zealand convenience store staff member has had to recover from a serious fright after a daylight armed robbery, the sixth convenience store robbery in the area since April.
Two men wearing scarves over their faces and wielding a weapon entered the Tauranga store at 2pm and confronted the employee.
Store owner Aman Deep said the employee was very scared and moved to the side to let the thieves take what they wanted.
“They took lots of smokes and all of the money out of the till,” she said.
Ms Deep said they had increased the security and alarms but were still worried and scared.
“Even if we are at home late we keep watching on our phones at the cameras to see what is happening,” she said.
A friend of the victims has called for tougher penalties.
“Shopkeepers need to keep weapons behind their counters,” they said.
A friend of the Deeps with 10 years of retail experience himself said the offenders threatened to kill staff in the store.
“Police are doing the hard work. There’s no doubt about that but the law is very soft. [Robberies] have happened to me many times and I don’t trust the law anymore,” he said.
“There needs to be more power to shopkeepers.”
While no one was injured in the attack, police are continuing to investigate the incident.
Bay of Plenty District Command Centre Senior Sergeant Steven Shaw said the accused had threatened a staff member before fleeing on foot with unknown amounts of money and cigarettes.
This robbery marks the third time in three years that this convenience store has been robbed.