Four hurt in New Zealand axe attack at Chinese restaurants

Four people were wounded when a man went on a rampage with an axe at a string of Chinese restaurants in a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand.

The attack began at about 9 p.m. local time Monday, when a 24-year-old man barged into three neighboring restaurants and started hacking away at diners, witnesses said.

The man managed to damage half a dozen restaurants in total, the New Zealand Herald reported.

The unidentified attacker was arrested and charged with wounding and intending to cause grievous bodily harm. There was no apparent motive, and the attacker acted alone. Police said further charges were likely.

The man appeared briefly in court on Monday, accompanied by a Mandarin translator, the Herald reported.

Restaurants amped up security.

One victim was at Auckland City Hospital in stable condition, and North Shore Hospital had two patients in stable condition, one with moderate injuries and another with minor injuries, the hospitals said. North Shore discharged a third person earlier in the day.

One diner who did not give his name told the Herald he’d been eating dinner with a friend when the man walked in and started attacking the friend, seriously injuring him. He then went for the first diner, aiming for his head as he blocked the blows with his hands, he told the Herald.

“He was very, very calm,” another diner told the Herald. “He kept coming at me.”

With News Wire Services