Kids witness Rotorua armed robbery
Three children who went to a Rotorua store to buy lollies got the fright of their lives when they found themselves caught up in an armed robbery.
The trio were ordered to sit on the floor by the robbers who made off with cash and jewellery.
The primary school-aged kids were left shaken by the experience on Saturday which police believe is linked to another robbery in the city.
In the first robbery, two armed men confronted the owner of Jerams' Superette on Te Ngae Street while the children were in the shop and another man went out the back of the store.
The following day a man wearing a balaclava ran off with the till from St Andrews Superette on Otonga Road.
Police say a silver Mazda Familia, stolen from Auckland last week, was used in both robberies and was found abandoned in Rotorua on Sunday evening.
"The fact that these offenders showed no hesitation in committing this particular robbery in front of three very young children is despicable," said Detective John Hope.
