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Police have ruled out charging a dairy owner who opened fire with an air pistol at armed robbers in his store.
But they have warned other business owners not to assume they will automatically get a free pass for similar actions.
The Christchurch dairy owner, who wanted to be known as Nike, opened fire with the pistol on Monday night after one of the masked man advanced on the counter waving a long knife in a chopping motion. Nike believes he hit the man in the face before he grabbed the till and the pair fled.
Earlier this week police said charges against Nike were possible, to which Nike said he acted to save the lives of himself and his wife.
Yesterday police announced that, after consulting Crown solicitors, Nike would not face criminal charges arising from the incident. Detective Sergeant Paul Merrett said this should not be seen as a precedent or indicator to any future decision in a similar situation.
