Hato Hone St John and police confirmed the security guard had been taken to Middlemore Hospital in a moderate condition. St John said it responded with one ambulance, one rapid response unit and one operations manager.

A security guard at a Papakura Woolworths has been taken to hospital after an assault.

Jason Stockill, Woolworths’ director of retail and franchise, said the incident at the Papakura store was extremely concerning and the company was working with police, having provided CCTV footage.

“Our team and contracted security guards deserve to come to work and feel safe, and to go home safely to their whānau.

“As with all retailers, we also want our customers to be safe when shopping without witnessing acts of violence or aggression such as this.

“Unfortunately, we continue to see retail crime have a very real impact in our stores, on our team, security guards and customers, and their whānau, despite extensive security measures and efforts individually and working across industry.”

Stockill said Woolworths and Allied Security, its third-party supplier of security guards, had started an investigation and could not comment further, other than confirming that the security guard was receiving care for the injuries sustained.

“Woolworths has zero tolerance for any type of violence or aggression in our stores, to our team, contractors or customers.

“We acknowledge this would have been a particularly upsetting incident to have witnessed and apologise to anyone who was caught up in this situation.”