Grief-stricken parents of a young dairy worker who was fatally stabbed two days ago are desperate for their son’s body to be returned to them.

A shopkeeper was fatally stabbed in an aggravated robbery at a dairy in Auckland’s Sandringham on Wednesday and a manhunt for the killer is ongoing.

The worker, who friends described as polite and friendly, had relocated to Auckland from Hamilton only last week to look after Rose Cottage Superette while the owners were overseas.

Police were called to the store at the intersection of Haverstock Rd and Fowlds Ave at 8.05pm after an offender entered the shop armed with a knife and took the cash register.

Flowers outside the Rose Cottage Superette in Sandringham where a worker was stabbed to death during a robbery on Wednesday night. Photo / Dean Purcell.

Police said the victim was stabbed several times 100m from the store after he confronted the thief.

The man, who was newly married and in his mid-30s, managed to make it back to the dairy, where emergency services were called, but died from his injuries.

Dairy and Business Owners Group chairman Sunny Kaushal told the Herald his parents had come from India and were staying in Hamilton when the tragedy struck.

They came from Hamilton to Auckland to see their son.

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“They have lost a young son. They want their son’s body back.

“His wife is in trauma, she is not speaking.”

The police and Coroner have been approached for comment on when the victim’s body will be returned to family.

Dairy and Business Owners Group chairman Sunny Kaushal outside the Rose Cottage Superette yesterday. Photo /Dean Purcell.

Kaushal said community leaders had a meeting yesterday to figure out the next steps.

“We don’t know when the body would be returned, police are conducting a post-mortem.

“We have created a fundraiser to support the family.”

Police are still hunting for the offender, who according to CCTV footage placed the cash register in a wheelie bin before the fatal attack and then took it with him afterwards.

Police released images of the attacker, who was dressed in a black shirt, black pants and a black hat, and wore a black and white bandana over his face.

Police are releasing images of the male offender they are seeking in connection with the homicide investigation underway in Sandringham. Photo / NZ Police

The man’s pants are believed to have white writing down the left leg and his cap is believed to say “Raiders”.

Police believe the man walked towards Sandringham’s Duncan Ave after the attack and they are calling on residents to provide CCTV footage if they have it.

A friend of the killed worker told the Herald yesterday that his mate was very friendly and polite, and loved his wife.

The nightmare attack has left the tight-knit community near the dairy reeling.

Two hundred people gathered outside the dairy yesterday, with floral arrangements placed outside the store. A waiata was sung as a police cordon blocked the street.

Hundreds gathered outside the Rose Cottage Superette in Sandringham on Thursday to pay tribute to the slain worker. Photo / Dean Purcell.

The dairy is within Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s electorate and yesterday she acknowledged the family members of the man who was killed and said it was “devastating to see what has happened”.

Ardern said it was important to acknowledge the man’s family and make sure police are as well-supported as possible to ensure “justice is done”.

Asked whether she was soft on crime, Ardern said she had disagreed with that consistently and spoke of the long sentences possible for those who committed offences such as aggravated robberies.

It came after a social media post by the Prime Minister pledging the Government would make sure those responsible were brought to justice. “To the family who today mourns their lost loved one — I am so sorry this has happened,” she wrote.

It emerged yesterday that Rose Cottage Superette was twice denied support for a fog cannon - prompting Police Minister Chris Hipkins to demand an explanation from officers.

The dairy isn’t the only store which was denied support.

Sandringham Business Association chairman Jithin Chittibomma told RNZ today one local vape store was attacked six times before it finally got a state-funded fog cannon, and a liquor store gave up asking and bought its own.

But the real problem to be addressed was how to stop violent offending.

“Someone was stabbed here after the perpetrator was confronted, so a fog cannon or a bollard wouldn’t have helped in any way in that situation,” he said.

“What we’ve seen is absolutely ‘I don’t care’ attitude, a sense of entitlement” that someone could go into a shop and take what they want and there was nothing anyone could do to them.

“How do you change that attitude? It goes beyond fog cannons and bollards.”

Chittibomma said there was anger towards the authorities that not enough was done to avoid the death.

He had no hope that anything would improve if the Government continued with the same reactions.

“We still are in shock, we haven’t even come together to discuss what we’re going to do next.”

Everyone was emotional and angry right now, he said, and a few business owners told him they just want to shut up shop.

“It’s all up in the air right now ... we need to let things settle down and see how people react.”