A six-year-old girl is being praised as a hero after bravely trying to stop an axe-wielding robber targeting her father's shop on Auckland's North Shore.
School had just finished on Monday and the Patel family had arrived at the Hillcrest store when a car suddenly pulled up, and five masked attackers burst through the door, waving weapons.
"One of the guys had a hand-axe and he was chasing after us," shopworker Jordan Byrt told the New Zealand Herald.
"I turned around and I saw the boss's young daughter here and I just tried to get them out as soon as I can, just trying to be a distraction."
He ended up pinned in the corner and was attacked by the man wielding a hand-axe.
Then the Patels' daughter stepped in.
Video footage shows her grabbing the attacker in an attempt to save Mr Byrt's life.
She then escapes with the help of her grandfather.
"Both of them did a wonderful job," store owner Suhail Patel says. "Although this is not the training I gave her."
Luckily, the brave girl was uninjured in the encounter.
"She was in a bit of shock. She's getting back to normal," Mr Patel says.
When the robbers escaped it sparked a police hunt across Auckland, ending up with five teenagers being arrested in west Auckland.
They appeared in the youth court on Tuesday morning.
After the violent robbery, Mr Patel says he now plans on upgrading the store's security.
Newshub.
