A man charged with four counts of attempted murder following last month's horror stabbing at a Dunedin Countdown has pleaded not guilty.
He made a short appearance via audio-video link from prison at a hearing at the Dunedin High Court on Tuesday morning.
The man pleaded not guilty to all four counts of attempted murder and elected to face a trial by jury.
A psychiatric report is underway and a case review hearing is set down for August 3. Another hearing to determine whether name suppression continues is scheduled for August 26.
Four people were injured - three critically and one seriously - during the attack at the Countdown on Cumberland St on the afternoon of May 10. Two supermarket employees were among the injured.
Following the incident, Countdown said it would consider bringing in body cameras to protect workers from potential harm.
"Right throughout New Zealand we have seen an increasing frequency of abuse and assaults and threats in our stores but also increasing severity," said Countdown spokeswoman Kiri Hannifin.
"It's been a hell of a year for our team not just with COVID and the COVID-19 incidents in our stores but also the abuse they are receiving while providing an essential service."
The cameras have already been successfully implemented in some Australian supermarkets.
