Horrifying moment when a knife-wielding boy bursts into a gas station in Katherine, Northern Territory
Horrifying moment when a boy bursts into a gas station with a knife and kicks the counter – while the manager reveals how much effort the workers go to to protect themselves
- Armed robbery of NT BP gas station
- CCTV footage shows a boy waving a knife
- Robberies are common in Katherine, staff said
A boy brandishing a knife has wreaked havoc at a gas station, with staff revealing the lengths they went to to protect themselves.
CCTV footage on Sunday showed the boy running rampant and kicking the counter at a BP gas station on Katherine Terrace in Katherine, Northern Territory.
An employee, who wishes to remain anonymous, told Daily Mail Australia that similar incidents have occurred at the property ‘every few days’.
It comes as the Northern Territory grapples with a crime spree with assaults, burglaries and car thefts rife in the community.
A gas station employee said they were forced to take matters into their own hands and arm themselves with whatever they could find.
A youth has threatened staff with a knife during a terrifying armed robbery at a petrol station in the Northern Territory, something the company has to deal with ‘every few days’
The youngster repeatedly kicked the counter and the protective barrier BP Katherine Terrace manager put up to keep staff safe
“I now have fly spray behind the counter and I have instructed staff to defend themselves by any means necessary,” they said.
“I don’t know if someone who works at night can say they feel safe, but it helps to show up or be confident in your appearance.”
The staff member said the violent incidents were a regular occurrence.
‘It’s daily fare for us here. Now we’ve built a Perspex fishbowl around us,’ they said.
Footage from the latest incident shows the knife-wielding boy pacing back and forth in the gas station while making aggressive gestures towards staff.
He repeatedly kicks the counter and a barrier separating staff from customers.
“He tried to kick his way through, but he couldn’t,” the staff member said.
CCTV footage seen exclusively by Daily Mail Australia shows the teenager tipping over display stands and throwing products on the floor and against the barrier.
A spokesman for BP Australia said no staff were injured in the incident.
One employee said the boy “just made a mess of it and scared the employee who was working at the time.”
CCTV footage showed staff tilting displays and throwing products in his frenzy
When the boy got nothing, he got impatient and started kicking the barrier around the counter. He eventually gave up and waited for police to arrive, the servo manager told Daily Mail Australia
They added that the child may have been a teenager, but they were “taller than the guy behind the counter.”
Finally, when the attacker was not given any cash, “he went out, sat down and waited outside for the police to arrive.”
The same gas station was the target of an alleged aggravated robbery on April 23.
NT police allege that four young people ‘armed with a knife and a spear’ stole two cash registers from the business.
Aside from the locked barrier, the manager has told staff to use all means to protect themselves.
Daily Mail Australia contacted NT Police for comment.
The incident comes as a crime wave continues to rampage through the state.
In January, national coverage of the crime spree led Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to visit the area.
He pledged funding to tackle crime, including $25 million for community services, $2 million for the Tangentyere Women’s Council, $2 million for high-visibility police operations, and $2 million for additional lighting and streetlights for the area.