Wellington: A man with an axe attacked random diners at three neighbouring Chinese restaurants in New Zealand, wounding four people, police and witnesses said.
Police said the man began the attack at about 9pm on Monday in the north Auckland suburb of Albany.
Police tape cordons off a restaurant in Auckland, New Zealand after an axe attack late on Monday. Credit: AP
Police arrested a 24-year-old suspect at the scene and charged him with wounding with the intention of causing grievous bodily harm.
The man, a Chinese national, made a brief court appearance Tuesday. Police did not immediately offer a motive for the attack but said they had no evidence it was racially motivated.
Auckland City Hospital said one patient from the attack remained there in a stable condition. North Shore Hospital said it had one patient with moderate injuries and a second with minor injuries, both of whom were in a stable condition, and had earlier discharged a third patient.
A diner told the New Zealand Herald newspaper he was eating dinner with a friend when the man walked in and started attacking his friend, who was seriously injured.
The attacks occurred at a cluster of restaurants that provide low-cost options reminiscent of Chinese street food.Credit: AP
“I was in shock. When I realised what was happening, he tried to target me,” the man, who asked not to be named, told the Herald. “I blocked his axe with my hand. He was also trying to target my head, so I blocked the axe with my hand.”
The diner said the man with the axe chased them out of the restaurant and then turned around and walked into another restaurant.