Clash as Christchurch Police Respond to Incident Involving Man Wielding Knife

Witnesses have described how a man with a knife has threatened numerous people in Christchurch, with a passerby saying the man was demanding “money, a wallet and a phone.”

Police responded to reports of a man with a knife seriously wounding a person in Christchurch this afternoon.

A man was arrested just before 6 in the afternoon. No shots were fired.

In a statement tonight, police confirmed that a man had been arrested following a robbery and assault.

“Around 4 PM, the police received a report of a robbery on Ensors Rd, Waltham.

“A person had been threatened with a knife and his phone had been taken from him.

“A short time later, the police received a second report of an assault on Isabella Place. One person had been stabbed and seriously injured.

“Police located the man at an address in the Mackenzie Courts and he was taken into custody.”

A 31-year-old man had been charged with four counts of aggravated robbery and one count of assault on police.

He’s due in the Christchurch District Court tomorrow.

Several policemen remain at the scene and it is understood that an investigation is underway.

A man claiming to be the brother of the alleged offender said that his brother had recently been released from prison and that he is “afraid of what might happen if his brother does not come out.”

A video posted on social media showed a man in a blue T-shirt holding a knife and police officers talking to him near Ferry Rd, Waltham, around 4 p.m.

Police responded to reports of a robbery and assault in Christchurch.

“Around 4pm, police received a report of a robbery on Ensors Rd, Waltham,” a police statement said.

“A person had been threatened with a knife and his phone had been taken from him.

“A short time later, the police received a second report of an assault at Isabella Place. One person had been stabbed and seriously injured.”

St John confirmed that one person was taken to hospital with serious injuries.

The police surrounded a house and shouted at the alleged criminal: “You are not going anywhere, the house is surrounded, we know you are inside.”

A woman at the scene said the man lived in a unit at the address and had been there for quite some time.

Witnesses said the alleged knife-wielding man had previously detained a teenager at a bus stop and demanded his cell phone.

A friend told the Herald that the boy was scared and handed him over.

Others at the bus stop were also threatened. One woman said they were also approached at the bus stop and the man threatened them with a large knife.

He asked for a men’s watch and put a knife 5-10 cm from his chest.

“He pointed a knife at her,” said a woman, recounting the incident.

But he refused to hand it over and the man escaped to a nearby apartment just 25 meters away.

The flat is now surrounded by armed police.

They are telling the man that he is surrounded and that he needs to get out.

Another viewer recalled how the teenager was held.

“He took one of the boys’ phones,” he said. “He was pretty scared so he gave it to her.

“I was going to throw a stone at him.”

A witness who lives on Fredrick St said the man confronted his neighbor. Said she opened the door to a man with a knife.

“He just rocked and knocked on the door … she had her baby on her hip,” she said.

“He was completely unknown … he demanded money, a wallet and a phone.

“She started screaming and crying and that’s the first thing we hear … we ran out and everything unfolded.”

A man claiming to be the brother of the man at the center of the incident is on the scene.

He told the Herald that his older brother was recently released from prison and later spent time at Hillmorton Hospital for mental health issues, including schizophrenia.

“He has mental health problems … the police will not solve anything,” he said. “Only a doctor can help. Let me talk to him. He could fix this …”

He said the police he had approached refused to let him in.

“It’s sinking …” he said. “Years ago [in prison] … for stabbing. The prison did this to him. “

The man said he was afraid of what might happen if his brother didn’t come out.

“He’d rather die than leave … he’s going to do everything he can.”

He told police that he had seen the fight on Facebook and that he went down the street to try to convince his brother.

Despite calls from a crowd gathered for the police man not to allow it.