A 26-year-old man has been arrested and charged in relation to a stabbing in Auckland’s North Shore suburb of Birkenhead almost three weeks ago.
Detective Sergeant Matt Bartlett said man was arrested during a search warrant at a Northcote address on Saturday morning and was due to appear in the North Shore District Court on Monday, charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
Police said they would be opposing bail.
A man was found with serious injuries on Birkenhead Ave by a member of the public at around 2pm on February 4.
A witness told 1News that they saw a badly injured man lying on the side of the road on his back at around 2pm
“An elderly lady stopped to help him, then a cop car pulled up.”
They said the situation was “scary” and that they had “never seen anything like it”.
“I hope somebody saw it happen or has seen something.”
The victim, who was taken to hospital in a critical condition, was reported to be recovering from his wounds.
North Shore area commander inspector Stefan Sagar earlier said that police did not believe it was a “random incident”.
The brazen stabbing in a busy street shortly before nearby primary and secondary schools let students out for the day — as well as an unrelated armed hold-up of a cash delivery vehicle exactly one week later just metres along the same road — shook the usually quiet village suburb.
Police stepped up patrols in the area to reassure the community and MP Dan Bidois called a public meeting to address concerns about safety and crime.
Following the arrest this morning, Detective Sergeant Bartlett thanked members of the public “for their assistance and information provided that assisted our investigation”.
He also noted police teams worked tirelessly on the case, as part of an ongoing dedication to holding offenders to account.