28 Apr 2023

Ramraid at Christchurch mall was 'only a matter of time'

10:52 am on 28 April 2023
The Hub mall in Hornby, Christchurch, was hit by a ram raid on Friday 28 April.

The Hub mall in Hornby, Christchurch, was hit by ram raiders early on Friday morning. Photo: RNZ / Nathan Mckinnon

A ramraid at Christchurch's Hub Hornby mall was "only a matter of time", the mall's manager says.

Police were called after two offenders used a stolen vehicle to break into the mall on Main South Rd in Hornby about 4.30am on Friday.

Shattered glass was left on the ground at the Chalmers St entrance into the mall where offenders stole an unknown number of goods before fleeing the scene.

Manager Jason Marsden said it "was only a matter of time" before the mall experienced its first ramraid.

"Our main priority is staff safety and that everyone on site is safe, they are understandably a bit shaken," he said.

Staff were working to get the shattered glass cleaned up as soon as possible and aimed to reopen the mall mid-morning.

The Hub mall in Hornby, Christchurch, was hit by a ram raid on Friday 28 April.

The mall was closed early on Friday while staff worked to clear glass. Photo: RNZ / Nathan Mckinnon

"We have plenty of CCTV footage that the police are working through," Marsden said.

Soon after, at 5.20am, an unknown number of offenders broke into a business on Lincoln Rd in Addington, stole items and left.

Police could not say if the two break-ins were related.

The incidents come after five businesses were targeted on Monday morning in Canterbury, including Sharkey's bar in Hoon Hay, which had now been broken into six times since Christmas.

On Thursday four teenagers were arrested following the spate of burglaries across the five premises between 12.45am and 5.30am. Police didn't specify which of the incidents the young people were involved in.

It follows a string of ramraids in the city in the past year.

*This story was first published on Stuff