Terrifying moment supermarket worker is STABBED in the belly after fighting back when facemask gang robbed his store
- CCTV released of shocking armed robbery where worker stabbed in stomach
- The worker at the Maitland petrol station was treated and released from hospital
- Police are looking to speak to the three men captured on the CCTV footage
- WARNING: Distressing content
A group of armed robbers remain on the run after a service station hold up in which the attendant was viciously punched in the face and stabbed in the belly.
CCTV footage of the incident shows three men walking into the store at Maitland about 5am on the morning of January 20.
One of the men jumps the counter and threatens the worker and when he fights back the trio turns aggressive repeatedly punching him in the head and then stabbing him in the stomach.
The group of three men walk into the service station in the Maitland suburb of Morpeth on January 20 (pictured)
The men then fled in a stolen white Subaru Liberty with a large amount of stolen cash.
Paramedics were called and the attendant was treated at the scene before being rushed to hospital.
He has since been released from hospital.
The following day police were called after a group of men were seen loitering in the Edgeworth area – about 30km away – at 2.40am.
The officers who responded observed the stolen Subaru Liberty and initiated a pursuit when the driver failed to stop.
When the attendant fights back the men then punch him in the head and stab him in the stomach with a knife (pictured)
One of the men can be seen helping himself to the contents of the cash register (pictured)
The stolen vehicle drove south through a number of suburbs before police stopped the pursuit because of the manner of driving.
The car was later found abandoned in the suburb of Awaba at 5am.
Police subsequently found a knife in the car and are treating the service station robbery and the pursuit as linked incidents.
Police want to speak to three men seen in the video from the service station.
One man is shown wearing a navy long-sleeved shirt with a white and red print on the front, navy pants, and a navy cap.
The following day dashcam captured a group walking by parked cars moments before a police pursuit involving the same car used in the service station robbery (pictured)
Another is seen wearing a beige hooded jumper, maroon pants, black shoes and red cap.
And the third man is seen wearing jean shorts, a grey hooded jumper and white shoes.
Dashcam footage also captured a group of men walking by a parked car just before the police pursuit in Edgeworth.
Anyone with information should contact Crime Stoppers.
New figures released to the government show that while retail robberies dropped over the course of lockdowns there has been a surge since November as restrictions lifted.