A French couple's New Zealand holiday took a horrible turn when two teenagers armed with a hammer assaulted them and ran off with cash in the early hours of yesterday morning.
The tourists were asleep in their grey Toyota Previa van when they awoke to the two teens around 1am in Dargaville's Totara St carpark. They demanded money before punching one of the victims and fled on foot with an amount of cash.
The French tourist had moderate injury to his face.
A police dog traced the teens to a nearby location where they were subsequently arrested. The stolen cash was recovered, but the hammer is unaccounted for.
The teens were carrying a backpack between them and were possibly walking in Victoria St, Dargaville between 12:15am and 1:30am yesterday morning.
The French couple had only been in New Zealand a short while, but still plan to continue their holiday despite being traumatised by the incident, police say.
Two teenagers, 18 and 19, have been charged. They will appear in Whangarei District Court today on aggravated robbery and cannabis-related charges.
Anyone who witnessed the incident is asked to contact the Dargaville CIB on (09) 439 3400 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Newshub.
