By Rachel Helyer Donaldson for RNZ
A retail worker at a West Auckland mall says there was chaos, panic and confusion following an armed robbery on Sunday.
A group of five thieves made off with jewellery from Michael Hill in a brazen smash and grab attack at NorthWest Shopping Centre about 3.45pm.
Synergy Hair receptionist Tessa van Houten said she was serving a customer when they heard loud bangs and saw groups of people running.
Van Houten said initially she thought it was kids ''mucking around" on the last day of the school holidays.
''But then there was a lot of yelling, and more people were running and I [saw] further up in the mall stores were closing their gates.
''We didn't know what was going on but I thought 'oh well, it's better to be safe than sorry and lets follow suit'."
Van Houten said she, her co-worker and several customers waited inside for 15 minutes until an alarm sounded telling everyone to evacuate to the car park.
Outside, there were "helicopters flying over, a lot of police sirens and fire trucks ... we still didn't know what was happening''.
Van Houten said mall workers and customers were in the car park for half an hour before they were able to return inside.
"We noticed Michael Hill had been smashed and grabbed ... after my shift we got a closer look and saw that a lot of the glass cabinets had been broken into, the front ones didn't seem [smashed] but the ones towards the back seemed completely broken."
She said the recent fatal stabbings at a Sydney mall were top of mind for her and the salon's hairdresser.
"Me and my co-worker had discussed [the other week] what would we do in a situation like that y'know, so we already were on the same page.''
Another retail worker told RNZ she thought the Bondi stabbings was one of the main reasons people in the mall were panicked.
Van Houten agreed it was nerve-wracking but said she was determined to keep calm for her customers.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the shopping centre said they were limited in what information they could provide as it was an active police investigation.
"However the safety of our customers, retailers and colleagues is of paramount importance to us. We would like to commend the swift action of the New Zealand Police, as well as our retailers, security teams and colleagues for managing the situation in line with our security procedures.
"The Northwest Shopping Centre team continues to support all of those involved following [Sunday's] incident, and are actively assisting New Zealand Police in their investigation."
Police were asking anyone who had cellphone footage of the incident or information which would help with inquiries to call 105 or report online at 105.police.govt.nz clicking "Update Report" and referencing file number 240412/0735.
People could also call Crime Stoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
RNZ
