Watchers egg on mall jumper

Onlookers shouted for an upset, half-naked man to jump to his death from the top of an Auckland shopping mall yesterday, angering police who say their behaviour aggravated a dangerous situation.

Police officers were trying to talk the man down from a high arch above the entrance to LynnMall in Auckland.

More than 100 people gathered to watch the man caper across rafters, and shout at those below. One man complained: "I wish he'd just jump. I can't get to my car."

The man climbed to the roof after raiding a nearby Starbucks outlet in search of knives.

Manager Lara Tulaga said he ran into the shop with a woman, believed to be his girlfriend, shouting for knives.

The woman tried to block him from the knives, but was pushed aside.

"He was really agitated, really aggressive," she said. The man grabbed knives from a tray, then ran from the shop and emerged on the roof.

He shouted: "Are you guys scared now? I've got a shotgun. I'm going to shoot you all. Boom, boom, boom."

It is believed the armed offenders squad was called to the scene, though no weapon was found.

A shopper, Mata Faneva, was one of the first on the scene, and stayed for almost two hours trying to calm the man down.

He was eventually talked down by a female police officer who climbed on to the roof from a nearby carpark. Inspector Rob Abbott said members of the public made the situation worse by getting involved. "He was playing up to the crowd."

- HERALD ON SUNDAY