A petrol station worker has been left traumatised after being viciously attacked on the job.
He told Newshub police didn't respond to two calls for assistance, and he's lucky to be alive.
At 7:30pm on a Tuesday, a man entered a Herne Bay BP 2go, looking for the bathroom.
What happened next was a shocking attack that left 28-year-old worker Ronark Patel traumatised.
CCTV footage shows it was relentless, leaving blood pouring from his face.
Two weeks on, he still bears the scars, and has been left with eye damage and a fractured skull.
"I can't see down. Still to this day," Patel told Newshub. "I can't see wide properly - things are a blur. I'm waiting for the doctor to put a plate in to support my eye."
In a stroke of luck, off-duty paramedic Alice Tolich just happened to be walking by and caught the offender leaving on her phone.
"That's what you get if you don't let me use the f**king toilet," he yelled. Tolich, holding the phone in front of her face, said: "I'm just going to help that guy."
He yelled, "Hey lady, better delete that video".
Patel said without Tolich's help, his injuries would have been far worse.
"That lady was everything on that night. If she hadn't come, I don't know what his aggressive levels would be."
We asked what would have happened if she hadn't turned up.
"I'm damn sure I would have lost this eye."
Patel said despite the police station being just 700 metres away from the BP 2go, his boss managed to drive from Papakura to pick him up and take him to hospital, all before police arrived.
In a statement to Newshub, police said the incident has been under investigation since the matter occurred on the night of April 30.
"At the time the incident was reported, the offender had left the petrol station and units in the immediate area were attending other priority incidents at the time.
"An off-duty police member, as well as an off-duty paramedic, were at the station and provided immediate assistance to the attendant who had been assaulted.
"Subsequently our 111 call taker had been advised the victim had been transported by private vehicle to hospital.
"This enquiry job was mistakenly resulted as 'k1' (no further police action required) in the dispatch system, out of human error, but our enquiries were already underway at this point.
"We will continue to keep the victim and the store manager updated on progress."
But Patel said that isn't good enough.
"I was working hard for my family to feed them. I pay my taxes, I was doing my best. An incident is an incident."
Auckland Central MP Chlöe Swarbrick told Newshub "violence does not belong in this city or this country".
"Everyone deserves to go to work and come home being safe and feeling safe. We will be in touch with police and emergency services to understand what happened here," she said.
"I've asked for politicians across the aisle to work together to depoliticise, and turn down the heat. There is evident need out there, in our communities, for us to take an evidence-based approach to prevent this stuff happening in the first place. That's the most important thing any politicians could do. It's not to talk tough, it's to do what works."
Patel, afraid for his life, thought of his family, he said.
"I am the only son of my family. Who will look after them? My family is overseas in India. If something goes wrong, who will care?"
Police said they arrested an 18-year-old man two days ago in relation to the incident.
He has been charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and threatening to kill.
He is expected in the Auckland District Court next week.
