Gun used in daylight robbery at girls' school

Masked men held a gun to the head of a security guard collecting money from an Auckland girls' high school, in a brazen daylight robbery.

The armed robbery happened after the lunch break at Epsom Girls' Grammar School on Wednesday afternoon. The two men fled in a stolen van, chased by the Armourguard security officer in his van, but managed to escape.

A locked security box containing school money was stolen, but the armed robbers were unable to get more money from the back of the Armourguard van.

School principal Madeline Gunn said staff acted quickly to secure the buildings and alert police, as the security officer was robbed at gunpoint outside the administration office.

The security guard was collecting the weekly banking, believed to be around $3000, which included cheques written out by parents.

"I can't confirm that, but it was not a huge amount of money. It all happened very quickly, it's not the sort of thing that happens every day," said Mrs Gunn.

"We feel incredibly lucky that all the girls were in class, there was never really any danger to the school community."

Two students were apparently nearly hit by the getaway van as it fled the crime scene, but Mrs Gunn said she was unaware of any close calls.

"To my knowledge, all the students were in class," she said.

She said the school would review how the banking in the school was handled.

Detective Sergeant Grant Tetzlaff, of the Glen Innes CIB, said school staff who saw the holdup had said they had seen two masked men, but his "gut feeling" was that three or four people were involved.

"It's concerning that anyone could do a robbery in a highly populated area like a school, using firearms. It's very dangerous."

Mr Tetzlaff said the security guard chased the getaway car in the Armourguard van, but could not keep up.

The stolen getaway vehicle, a Nissan Elgrand van, was later found abandoned in nearby Almorah Rd.

He urged people to be alert for any metal boxes found on their property, as the robbers may have dumped them.

In a written statement, Armourguard ADT said the male guard complied with the gunman's request.

"We commend the guard for remaining calm during what was a frightening ordeal and following Armourguard procedures. He has been offered counselling."

Any witnesses are asked to call the Glen Innes police station on (09) 524-1910.