Investiture Ceremony 19 May 2025

Mid-afternoon on 3 September 2021, a man, who had been under intense Police surveillance, entered a supermarket in New Lynn, Auckland and acquired a large kitchen knife, which he used to indiscriminately attack people across several aisles of the store. Within minutes, the offender caused significant injuries to five individuals and attempted to attack members of the public and staff who had barricaded themselves in a storeroom, before being fatally shot by Police officers.Mr Johnathan Curreen was present in the supermarket with his wife at the time of the attack. He heard screaming and saw the offender stab a woman who fell to the ground. After a short while, Mr Curreen saw the offender return to crouch over the woman to stab her again. Mr Curreen joined other shoppers in an attempt to distract the offender away from the woman. Mr Curreen shouted at the offender and rammed his trolley into him, while other shoppers also used trolleys and stanchions to distract and maintain distance between them and the offender. The offender followed Mr Curreen down the aisle, who backed away and crossed into another aisle, keeping the trolley between him and the offender. The offender followed and Mr Curreen and the other shoppers who had been distracting the offender moved to opposite ends of the aisle, keeping distance and barriers between them. At this time, two Police officers arrived to confront the offender, who was subsequently fatally shot.