Teller thought she would die

A bank teller has spoken of her terrifying ordeal at the hands of a gun-wielding robber - saying she was frightened he would kill her and leave her children without a mother.

The man, believed to be responsible for 10 other robberies around Auckland, attempted to rob three banks on Friday, succeeding in obtaining a small amount of cash at Royal Oak Postshop.

For one teller at the Postshop it was her second involvement in a bank robbery. She was so traumatised she was barely able to make a statement, police said.

A teller at ASB Bank in Dominion Rd - who asked not be named - said she was terrified the robber would kill her and leave her children without a mother.

She was confronted by the man at the bank late on Friday afternoon. He had earlier attempted to rob a BNZ at Auckland airport, but the teller had not taken him seriously and he fled.

The ASB teller said at first she couldn't understand what the man wanted as he spoke quietly. He showed her his gun and became angry as she tried to tell him she couldn't give him money because of the machine it was kept in. "He kept saying over and over 'give me the money', he also said 'I'll shoot you. Give me all the money or I will shoot'."

The teller told the robber she would get her cashflow card to give him money and managed to slip away from him to alert other staff who called police.

Detective Sergeant Andy King said police were worried the robber's erratic behaviour would escalate and he would shoot somebody. The man is described as a stocky Polynesian male, possibly Samoan, of medium height. Contact police on (09) 820 5748.


- HERALD ON SUNDAY