Retailer cool in knife drama

Police converged on the Paihia Four Square supermarket yesterday morning after a man was reported to have grabbed a knife and threatened a worker.

Paihia incident ends safely after shopkeeper takes calm approach to agitated intruder.

A cool-headed shopkeeper has described the moments an agitated intruder grabbed a knife and sparked a hostage situation in a busy seaside holiday town.

Bob Patel, owner of the Paihia Four Square in Northland, was busy at work when the incident unfolded yesterday morning.

A dozen customers and six staff members, including Mr Patel, were in the supermarket when a heavyset man entered about 10.25am.

"Some agitated guy thought his life was under threat from somebody outside," Mr Patel said.

The man's outburst was perplexing but staff took him seriously.

"Whether it was something in his head, or it actually was [real], we can't say," Mr Patel said. "He wanted a safe place and he wanted specific police officers to attend to his case."

The man, who Mr Patel estimated was 1.8m tall and weighed about 120kg, moved about the store before grabbing a knife, probably from near the shop's produce section.

"Of course, we can't tackle him because he was far more powerful than us to grapple," Mr Patel said.

"He asked us to let everybody get out of the shop because he was wielding a knife ... We kept him at bay and told everybody to get out, just go out, don't worry."

Mr Patel knew he had to stay calm.

"I've never been in a situation like that. I used to work overseas, in Papua New Guinea ... but even there I didn't have this kind of a situation."

Mr Patel did not know the man but said that according to locals he had moved into the neighbourhood recently, perhaps a few months ago.

The man appeared to know, and possibly trust, specific Kerikeri police officers. "Obviously he was scared of somebody. We don't know who, and we don't know what his motive was," Mr Patel said.

"My job was to make sure my staff were safe so I tried to accommodate his requirement as much as I could."

He complied with the man's request to keep the shop's doors closed.

Mr Patel said the man allowed him to go to a nearby police station "to see if there were any cops coming in, because he wanted to see them".

Mr Patel said the man held the knife to a shop worker's throat for up to 20 minutes before the situation was resolved. "When he held my staff, it was in the last desperate attempt when he could not get hold of an officer he wanted to see."

The young woman was shaken but said to be otherwise doing well last night. "She's all good. We told her to take the day off," Mr Patel said.

He said town was "full of people" but thankfully they remained calm and kept their distance.

With a police station barely 20m away and more officers arriving from nearby Kerikeri, it wasn't long before there was a sizeable police presence.

"When the officers arrived from Kerikeri, we showed him a couple of officers he felt comfortable to talk with, and he just gave himself up."

Police later said a 40-year-old man was arrested. One News reported a man was charged with kidnapping and with wounding with reckless disregard.