The bus where Wednesday's fatal attack took place. Photo: RNZ / Lucy Xia
A person who fatally stabbed a woman multiple times on a bus in Auckland's Onehunga on Wednesday is still on the run.
Emergency services rushed to Church St in Onehunga on Wednesday at about 2.30pm, following reports of a person being stabbed.
The woman was initially in a critical condition and taken to Auckland City Hospital, but police confirmed she had died a few hours later.
"Police are making urgent inquiries to locate the offender who has been identified through CCTV," a police spokesperson said on Wednesday evening, but no arrest has been announced since.
An Auckland councillor told Morning Report she has spoken with Police Superintendent Scott Gemmell who has told her they are still trying to find the person responsible.
Maungakiekie-Tāmaki ward councillor Josephine Bartley said she had seen that residents were expressing concerns for their safety on social media, and it was valid for them to be worried.
While she knew the community was scared, police knew who they were looking for and were doing everything as fast as they could.
"I still think our people need to be careful when out and about today until the police have this person in custody."
While people might be concerned about taking public transport, she said Auckland Transport had made safety a priority
Tools they were using included: GPS, CCTV, a panic button that goes direct to the depot, the bus drivers were trained in de-escalation and there was a text number (4030) to report concerning behaviour.
There were also more transport officers who liaised with police on a regular basis.
"We've had violence and aggression on our buses for a while now and these were the measures that were put in place but there's always more that can be done."
Police were working from a base in Moana Avenue, Bartley said.
CCTV footage from the bus would be helping them find the offender.
The area where the attack happened on Church Street was busy with shops and the Te Papapa train station.
A resident on nearby Victoria Street, who lives in a block of units, said police searched his home an hour after the attack, looking for the offender.
The man said police told him they had been told someone had been seen running down the driveway.
"I didn't know what was going on at that stage, they just asked if I consented to my house being searched because their dog wouldn't leave the area so I let them in."
The man said there were between 15 to 20 officers, outside his home, who were mostly armed.
"It was scary - I don't know why they pin-pointed my house, but they didn't find anything here."
Police left his driveway shortly after 5pm, he said, but were still patrolling nearby hours later.
Police Minister Mark Mitchell has posted on social media describing the attack as a senseless homicide.
My thoughts and prayers are with the family of the victim of the senseless homicide on a bus today in Auckland. Police continue to urgently search for the offender who they have identified. This gratuitous violence has no place in our communities.
— Mark Mitchell (@MarkMitchellMP) October 23, 2024
Speaking to Morning Report, Mitchell said he had not had a police update since last night.
It was now an ongoing investigation and the police's priority would be to locate the offender and lay charges.
The Auckland president of Tramways union, Gary Froggett, said he had worked in the bus driving industry for close to 60 years and had never heard of a person being killed on a bus before.
"There's been an increase in violence and safety issues since Covid-19, but nothing to this extent.
"I've had multiple calls from drivers following this death telling me they're concerned about their safety going back to work in the morning."
Many bus drivers had left the job recently, Froggett said, as they'd had enough of violence against them and fights between members of the public.
Auckland Transport confirmed the assault involved a passenger on the number 74 bus service in Onehunga.
"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," AT director of public transport Stacey van der Putten said.
"We are committed to working with our partner agencies and communities to turn the tide on violence and aggression in our public spaces."
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