Witness describes seeing blood on suspect in Dunedin supermarket stabbing as police led him away

May 10, 2021

Arthur Taylor told 1 NEWS there was visible blood on the suspect as he was led away in handcuffs.

A witness has described scenes of chaos after multiple people were injured following a stabbing at a Dunedin supermarket this afternoon.

Five people suffered stabbing wounds from a man at Countdown on Cumberland Street at around 2.30pm.

Two employees and the suspect were among five injured, police say.

Arthur Taylor, who filmed the aftermath of the incident, told 1 NEWS he was outside the supermarket when he saw a police car “come peeling in here, bells and whistles going, red lights going, sirens going”.

One person is in custody after the attack.

The jailhouse lawyer, who had previously been jailed, said he comforted an employee exiting the store who was left shaken after the ordeal.

“I actually comforted him and sat him down … and tried to calm him. He was really upset, couldn’t string many words together," he said.

“My impression had been a robbery had gone down, someone tried to rob the place with a knife and three or four people had been stabbed but then I saw a bit more as more police cars arrived, ambulances then arrived – this place was just awash with police.”

Taylor said “a lot of people were upset” after the incident.

"This was a beautiful, sunny Monday afternoon, peaceful old Dunedin and this is going down, you know? Right next door to our police station."

He said you "could see the blood on him" as police led the suspect away from the scene in handcuffs.

"From my impression, they were ranting and raving, so I don’t think it's a robbery at all, probably someone’s gone a bit nutty in there with a knife and attacked people," he said.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said there is nothing to suggest at this stage that the incident is a "domestic terror event" or that more than one person is involved.

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