An Auckland man says his car was punched in an unprovoked attack by a group of men while he and his partner were preparing to park for the supermarket, and claims they followed up their barrage by allegedly crashing into them.
The man has reported the incident to the police - and is issuing a warning to others after the "broad daylight" attack.
He said in a social media post the incident happened outside Countdown Westgate just before 3pm on Saturday - New Zealand's third day of COVID-19 alert level 4.
"My partner and I were heading there do our weekly shop… due to all the people going we pulled over on the side of the road… opposite Countdown to swap drivers so I could do the shopping while she found a park.
"We had a silver minivan pull in front of us cutting us off from being able to pull out."
The man said about five men then jumped out of the vehicle and started punching their windows, while also attempting to rip their car doors open.
But the attack didn't end there. The man shared a photo of a white Mercedes he said then became involved in the attack.
He believed the group in the Mercedes was accompanying the men that had just attacked them.
"Managed to get it [the car] into reverse and get around them… then proceeded to head up Westgate Dr to be able to call the cops and noticed they were following us pulling gang signs out the windows (didn't look like real gang members only wannabes)," the man said. "We pulled down a side road and did a lucky U-turn to end up behind them.
"Then as we were pulling over we got sideswiped by the white Mercedes in the photo and we believe they were together… [they] blatantly crashed into our car."
The man said they were again able to get away unharmed.
"A warning to everyone this happened in the mid-afternoon broad daylight in front of a lot of people."
The man's post was subsequently shared on social media site Reddit. One commenter said similar incidents in the area had caused them to feel unsafe.
"I've had people scream… while I was walking along main roads in Westgate… I don't feel comfortable in that area anymore. I park close to the shops and get in and out without mucking around now."
A police spokesperson told Newshub an investigation into the incident was underway.
"The victims in the incident reported that they had been involved in a traffic incident and the occupants of the other vehicle, which was described as a group of males, have then become very aggressive to the victims even punching their windscreen at one point.
"Unfortunately as there were no registration numbers available police were not able to immediately attend and locate the men but we will be looking to see if there are any other lines of enquiry."
