Napier police are hunting a "skinny Maori man" after a dairy owner was stabbed during a robbery this morning.
The dairy, on the corner of Latham and Vigor Brown Streets, was robbed about 11am, Napier police said.
The robber attempted to take cash from the register before confronting the store's owner with a knife.
A struggle ensued and the owner was stabbed in the shoulder and cut on his head, Senior Sergeant Nick Reid said.
He was taken to Hawke's Bay Hospital where he was being treated for his injuries, which were not life-threatening.
Police were searching for a thin Maori man, aged around 20, wearing dark pants, a blue hoodie with white writing on the sleeves and white shoes.
He was not believed to have made off with any cash, Mr Reid said.
He was spotted a short time after the robbery near the Marewa Shopping Centre, about a block away.
Police dogs were being used to find him.
If he was sighted, he should not be approached, Mr Reid said.
