Auckland police hope security camera footage will help catch the three men involved in a deadly robbery in south Auckland.
One of the robbers shot liquor store owner Navtej
Singh in the chest even though he had his hands up and was
obeying demands to hand over cash.
Thirty-year-old Navtej Singh died in Middlemore Hospital early
Monday morning.
Police say the shooting was extremely callous.
The dead man leaves a wife and three daughters aged between six
months and five years.
Police fear the robbers could strike again. There have been a
number of aggravated robberies in Manurewa in the last month.
The three men entered the south Auckland bottle shop at about 9pm on Saturday armed with a .22 calibre rifle and confronted the owners.
"He comes in, he say take out all the money, and then we are saying we are giving you the money," co-owner Gurwinder Singh told ONE News.
Navtej Singh handed over the money but despite that just moments later he was shot in the chest.
The offenders fled with cash and alcohol while Gurwinder waited next to Navtej as he lay on the floor vomiting blood. But he says help was slow to arrive.
"Police came after about 25 minutes and ambulance came very,
very late like 45 minutes."
Police spent all Sunday at the scene.
"Doing a robbery is bad enough but to take a loaded weapon into a shop and be prepared to use it, it really doesn't get much serious than that," Detective Dave Pizzini from Counties Manukau police says.
Family and friends of the injured man cannot understand why the gunman pulled the trigger when Navtej had already handed over the money.
One of the robbers was wearing a hoody with distinctive white Maori writing on the front.
"We're sure that there is somebody out there that knows who these three are and I'm appealing to anybody who thinks they might know who they are to give me a ring," Pizzini says.
"I can promise one thing that these offenders will be caught...and we would like that done sooner rather than later."
Twelve officers are working on the case and that is likely to be increased on Monday. They will be speaking to neighbours, doing a crime scene examination and looking through CCTV footage from inside the shop.
Police are trying to establish whether the robbery is linked to previous incidents. Pizzini says there have been a number of aggravated robberies in Manurewa in the last month and there is a possibility they are connected.
Police are also investigating the armed robbery of a KFC restaurant in Papatoetoe on Friday night in which three men escaped with a sum of money.
Meanwhile retailers are being encouraged to take steps to protect themselves and their staff from armed robberies.
New Zealand Retailers Association chief executive John Albertson says some areas can be dangerous for people who work late nights and deal with the public. He says if lives are being put at risk, then shops may have to close at night and only open during daylight hours.
Albertson says it is important for the inside of stores to be well lit and visible to people on the street.
