Man holds up party-pill shop

A man with a pistol burst into a party pill shop last night, demanded money and bashed a store assistant with the gun before escaping into the dark.

Police were still hunting for the attacker - and his gun - last night. The victim was left bleeding from gashes on his neck and head and was taken to hospital. He was working alone at Erox Adult Lifestyle Centre in Panmure, Auckland, when the intruder burst in.

The sole customer in the store, a 25-year-old Pukekohe woman, told the Herald on Sunday she spent 10 minutes on the floor, begging the gunman to stop the attack. "He was just yelling and screaming, then he went out the back with the owner and was demanding money."