A 16-year-old female has been charged following an assault at Mt Maunganui's Bayfair Mall on Friday afternoon.
Onlookers were terrified, with one witness telling RNZ she saw a young woman taken away on a stretcher and heard she had been stabbed.
On Saturday, an appeal for witnesses was issued by the police.
"Police would like to hear from anyone who witnessed and/or filmed the assault at Bayfair Shopping Centre at 4:40pm yesterday, Friday, May 3," a spokesperson said.
The victim remains in hospital in a stable condition, the spokesperson added.
"Police acknowledge that this incident will have been unsettling and traumatic for staff and shoppers.
"This was a busy time of day at the shopping complex and we know that many people may have video recordings showing the assault and/or the offender."
A Woolworths spokesperson confirmed to RNZ on Friday the assault happened inside its supermarket, adding all staff were safe.
The female youth was charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and is due to appear in Tauranga District Court next week.
