“An employee from the store pursued this group, managing to stop one of these males on Nuffield St when a knife was produced,” detective senior sergeant Matt Bunce said.
Security personnel from Newmarket Security arrived shortly after the stabbing, restraining a 16-year-old and disarming him before police reached the scene.
“The other two young males were tracked to nearby Newmarket Train Station and were apprehended,” Bunce added.
The 16-year-old is scheduled to appear in the Auckland Youth Court on 26 January charged with aggravated wounding and shoplifting, according to reports. The other two boys, both aged 13, were spoken to by police and will be referred to Youth Aid.
No hard feelings
Meanwhile, the injured employee told 1News that he did not feel negative towards the young men, and urged young people to “play Pokémon, not knives.”