Gunman foiled in kidnap bid

Police look over a car involved in the parking building kidnap attempt. Picture / Dean Purcell

Police were last night searching for a man who tried to kidnap a woman at gunpoint in Auckland.

The woman, a jewellery shop worker, was parking in a building near the corner of Symonds St and Karangahape Rd around 12.30pm when the man approached.
He ordered the Asian woman out of the car and into the boot, said Auckland police spokeswoman Noreen Hegarty. .

"He presented what appeared to be a handgun or threatened her with it."

When the woman heard another car approaching, she screamed and ran off, seeking help.

The man tried to drive out of the carpark but was prevented by the barrier arm, abandoned his car and ran off.

Ms Hegarty said police were working from a very poor description of the man, "but he left the vehicle at the scene, so we are following some reasonably good leads".

"The victim is shaken, but she was very brave."

A witness told the Herald he was surprised by the length of the woman's scream.

"It was a really weird scream. I don't know how anyone could scream that long. It was kind of a 10-second scream."

He described the man as "a European guy ... He had short, dark hair. He was wearing dark pants and a dark T-shirt".

The blue Mazda car is registered to a man who lived at a Mt Roskill boarding house until last October.

The landlady said the car owner and his son "wouldn't hurt anyone. They were very mellow jokers".