A shop worker in Heathcote has been left traumatised after being ordered to lie on the floor at gunpoint during a terrifying aggravated robbery.

As first reported by chrislynchmedia.com police received reports of an aggravated robbery at the Maltworks store on Port Hills Road around 7.20pm last night.

Canterbury Metro Area Commander Superintendent Lane Todd said four offenders entered the store and ordered the worker to lie on the floor.

The offenders robbed the store and fled in a stolen vehicle. One person was carrying an item that appeared to be a firearm, he said.

The vehicle was later found abandoned on the corner of Murdoch Street and Brookside Terrace around 6.40am.

The worker on duty told chrislynchmedia.com he was traumatised by what happened.

Store owner Nilay Dhameliya said security footage showed one offender carrying an iron bar, while another held what appeared to be a pistol in one hand and filmed with a cellphone in the other.

“They were in the shop for about four minutes, forcing my worker to the ground at gunpoint while they stole cigarettes, vapes and the till” Dhameliya said.

He said the worker was coping as well as possible. “I told him to take the day off but he wanted to stay at work. He is getting a huge amount of support from the community. A lot of people have been coming in to check he is ok” Dhameliya said.

He said the store had gone at least a year and a half without any serious incidents and so he removed the security bars because he felt safe again.

“The community did not like them either because they felt like they were walking into a cage, which made them uneasy. But sadly I will be putting them back in” he said.

Dhameliya said an officer told him that some offenders released from prison were coming back into the community more dangerous than before.

He said police told him offenders were being released early for what was described as good behaviour, and once they returned to the community they were a lot worse.

“We are such a small country. We have biometrics and CCTV and these people can be caught easily. This incident was shocking. This was gunpoint. We are not living in South Africa, and four minutes inside a shop is a very long time” Dhameliya said.

He said police had no clear idea who the offenders were but they appeared to be between 15 and 25 years old.

Dhameliya said he was frustrated that politicians were too focused on the North Island.

“The South Island seems to be left behind” he said.

“When Government ministers recently visited India they kept saying New Zealand was a safe country, but it is simply not true.”

Canterbury Metro Area Commander Superintendent Lane Todd said police were making enquiries to locate the offenders and hold them to account.