-
Police believe these men are connected to an armed robbery in Auckland. - Source: ONE News
Police are searching for two men over a daring daylight armed robbery in Auckland.
According to one witness two men held up Armourguard security guards yesterday at a Flight Centre store in Victoria St in front of dozens of onlookers at lunchtime. The witness said pedestrians were forced to run for their lives when the offenders drove through one of the city's busiest intersections.
Police say the vehicle they used as a getaway car was a stolen maroon coloured 2003 Subaru Legacy station wagon with the registration number BRT315.
The car was stolen from Kohimarama on December 17 and was used in the theft of a handbag from a Henderson convenience store on January 19.
It's not known whether the same people were involved in yesterday's raid, but police have released CCTV footage of two men they would like to speak to.
Daylight robbery
The drama began around midday when the station wagon raced down the wrong side of the road, cutting off traffic attempting to pull out of High St.
When it pulled up, a dark-skinned man with a slight build, wearing a grey hoodie and with a shotgun barrel sticking out of his sleeve, jumped out and followed Armourguard staff into Flight Centre, pointed the gun, claimed a cash box and fled to the waiting car.
It is not known how much money the men escaped with.
The Armourguard employees had gone inside to replace cash in the store's ATM.
A Ray White employee who witnessed the incident while having lunch opposite the store said the 45-second raid stunned onlookers.
"It was all pretty surreal. He grabbed the suitcase, threw it in the back of his [car] and there was a driver sitting in the car waiting," said the woman, who declined to be named.
She said the getaway driver was waiting down the road in a bus stop outside Whitcoulls.
The pair then took off through the Queen St intersection, with "people scattering everywhere" and up Victoria St, disappearing from sight.
"They just went through the lunchtime traffic, it was horrendous. You know what it's like at that Queen St junction - there were people flying everywhere."
The police helicopter was above the area in seconds but officers took around 20 minutes to arrive, she said.
The witness said there were plenty of onlookers "but no one wanted to interfere with him because of course he had the shotgun".
"Everyone was yelling out 'it's a robbery, it's a robbery' because we just saw this car screaming to a halt then a guy running out then we realised it was a robbery.
"Everyone was just stunned."
The hold-up appeared to have been well-planned, she said.
"We think they were probably sitting at the top of Victoria St waiting for Armourguard to walk in. It was all timing I suppose because they did it so fast."
The security guards came out and waited by their van after the robbery while the Flight Centre shop remained closed for the day.
The staff could not be seen from the road during the incident, the witness said.
While the robber was not wearing a mask, the witness said she only saw the side of his face and could not provide a description.
A police communications spokesman confirmed the two men made off with a cash box but said it was not known how much was in it.
Latest NZ News Video
-
Kiwi speaks to TVNZ7 from Everest base camp (1:59)
-
Immigration advisor Bill Milnes discusses claims (4:34)
-
Dance to save Shakti service (0:41)
