KEY POINTS:
The fatal shooting of a drug-addicted hostage-taker at a Whangarei cellphone shop has left the owners determined to help in some some way with the fight against P.
Lee Jane Mettam, 37, was shot dead by police on Thursday morning after robbing the Vodafone store on Reyburn St and taking a 29-year-old shop assistant hostage.
The Onerahi woman's family said she had fallen in with a bad crowd and became addicted to drugs. She was the first woman to be shot dead by police in New Zealand.
Vodafone First Mobile owners Brett Sawyer and Lynn MacCarthy-Morrogh said the ordeal had convinced them something had to be done about the scourge of P.
"It's just the germ of an idea but we really want to make something positive come out of a bad incident ... We want to turn this thing around."
Deciding exactly what to do would "require a lot of thought and talking to the right people".
He said a blessing for staff, partners, families and friends at the shop before the doors re-opened for business yesterday had made "an unbelievable difference" to the atmosphere of the building.
"I came in this morning and the place was cold and dark ... I was just about physically sick," he said. "You could feel the atmosphere change after the ceremony. No matter what anyone's beliefs are, I believe they would have felt that. There were a few tears ... it was a very moving ceremony".
He said the team had breakfasted together last Friday and been in constant touch during the weekend.
"They've stuck together and looked after each other," he said.
Vodafone had organised immediate trauma counselling for everyone involved. More was available if needed, either one-to-one or in a group.
He said the business had been inundated with cards, flowers, phone calls and emails, many from overseas. Nearby retailer Rodney Chang, manager of Pak'N'Save, had sent "two massive trays of food".
Former staff members had also rushed to offer comfort and support.
"We started the business 12 years ago. Some of our staff have been with us eight or nine years and a lot of people know them well."
Ms MacCarthy- Morrogh described the staff as "a brilliant team". Her husband said their behaviour during the incident had been "phenomenal".
"From the minute we realised something was wrong, they behaved with absolute calmness and did everything that could be asked of them. No one panicked or did anything crazy."
He did not believe the business was an unsafe place to work.
"The team realises this was a one-off event by one woman. It was not a vendetta or an ongoing thing," he said. "There is not a lot else we can do. We complied with everything she wanted to do. Everything is recorded on closed circuit television.
"But if we possibly can, we would like to do what we can to help rid this town or this country of this horrible drug."
* Whangarei police are still urging anyone who saw the dreadlocked woman in or around Whangarei on Thursday morning before the shooting - or any witnesses they have not yet spoken to - to call the station on (09) 430 4500.
- NORTHERN ADVOCATE
