A person who was taken to hospital in a critical condition after being stabbed onboard a bus in Auckland’s Onehunga has died of their injuries.
“Police are making urgent enquiries to locate the offender who has been identified through CCTV footage,” police said in an update this evening.
Emergency services were called to the route 74 bus on Church St at 2.30pm.
Police Inspector Danny Meade said a passenger had been stabbed in a “grievous assault” on the bus.
“It was a stabbing to the upper torso. The person is critically injured and is currently being taken care of at Auckland Hospital,” he said.
“The driver has not been injured. The driver was not part of this assault.”
Subsequently, police confirmed the injured passenger had died.
Hato Hone St John earlier said one person has been taken to Auckland City Hospital in a critical condition.
Several passengers were onboard the bus during the incident, Meade said.
The bus had been travelling from Glen Innes to Onehunga when the assault took place.
“We have no idea why this attack took place until we’ve had time to speak to our witnesses and find out exactly what happened.”
Meade said the Eagle helicopter and dog units had been deployed to help find the offender.
Auckland Transport public transport director Stacey van der Putten said the agency was aware of the “serious incident” aboard the bus.
She said: “We are working with our bus operator to provide support to the bus driver who witnessed this incident as well as our other customers who were onboard at the time.
“The safety and wellbeing of our passengers and bus drivers is our top priority and we are working with police and our bus operator to fully understand this afternoon’s incident.”
“Passengers travelling onboard our bus, train and ferry services deserve to be safe and feel safe, and we are committed to working with our partner agencies and communities to turn the tide on violence and aggression in our public spaces.”
Parts of Captain Springs Rd and Church Rd were closed while police conducted inquiries into the incident.