Failed BB gun robbery: Man arrested after allegedly attempting to rob Hastings dairy

An attempted robber fled with nothing and was soon arrested after his BB gun broke while hitting the owner of the Palm Store dairy in Hastings. Photo / Paul Taylor

A failed dairy robbery in Hastings ended with one man arrested and the owner needing stitches after he was hit with a BB gun.

The owner of Palm Store on Frederick St, who declined to be named, said he and his wife were closing up when a masked man with a gun entered the dairy.

“My wife was here behind the counter and I was on the other side of the store,” the owner said.

The intruder appeared surprised the owner was on the opposite side and hit him on the head with the BB gun, which broke on impact, sending pieces flying across the floor.

“I fell, got up again and he ran away. It didn’t take long, 10 seconds.”

The dairy owner received four stitches for his head wound at Hawke’s Bay Hospital but he said he has mostly recovered from the incident.

Senior Sergeant Craig Vining said police quickly arrested a man believed to have been responsible for an attempted robbery at a dairy on Frederick St, Mahora, around 6.35pm on Thursday.

“The man fled the scene empty-handed, however, police quickly put scene cordons in place, and the man was spoken to at these cordons.”

Once CCTV was obtained, the suspect was identified and police found him at his home address in Raureka a short time later.

A 41-year-old man is due to appear before the Hastings District Court on Friday on a charge of assault with intent to rob.

“I want to thank the members of the public who called us immediately with information, as it was critical in our effort to identify and locate the man involved,” Vining said.

If you see any unlawful or suspicious activity call police on 111 if it’s happening now or 105 if it’s after the fact.

The owner said it was “very good” the alleged culprit had been caught so quickly.

“He could have still been out there doing this sort of thing. It feels safer now,” he said.