One person is dead and another seriously injured tonight after a woman was found lying in a pool of blood outside a Browns Bay sushi shop on Auckland’s North Shore.

Police have just issued a statement following a horrific scene in which bystanders reported screaming, a stabbing and armed police forcing their way into the shop on Clyde Rd, the main road in the shopping centre near the beachfront.

“Police can confirm that a person has died following an incident at a restaurant on Clyde Rd, Browns Bay,” the statement said.

“Police and ambulance attended following a report of an assault received at 5.48pm.

“The victim of the assault was transported to Auckland Hospital with serious injuries.

“The offender responsible for inflicting the serious injuries died at the scene from a self-inflicted injury.”

Police said the victim and offender were known to each other.

“Police are providing support to those affected by this traumatic incident.

“The area is cordoned while inquiries into the circumstances are conducted, but no one else is being sought in relation to the incident.”

Three people in the area told the Herald they believed the woman had been stabbed and two said they saw somone lying in a pool of blood outside the shop, Neco Sushi.

A staff member at a local restaurant said she understood someone had been stabbed.

A restaurant employee near the scene said a customer pulled a knife on a woman in the sushi shop and stabbed her.

A witness described police sprinting towards the sushi shop from up the road.

”I didn’t see what happened but had heard there was a stabbing. It’s so tragic, this keeps happening every week in New Zealand.”

A man called Matt told the Herald he had just had a haircut and was getting into his car when he saw people moving towards the Neco Sushi shop, so he went to have a look.

”When I got to the shop this woman was just lying on the ground with a fair bit of blood.”

Matt said the blood was pooling around the woman’s head.

”She was outside the door of the sushi shop lying on the pavement.

“She was not responding but she was moving her legs and she was in pain.”

Matt said two “random people” were assisting the injured woman.

He said there were some construction workers nearby who had blood on their hands.

Matt said he believed another person in the shop had also been injured because he saw police heading up some stairs carrying medical equipment.

He said he was feeling “a bit shocked” after witnessing the incident’s aftermath.

It was the time of the day he often took his young daughter to Browns Bay to buy an icecream and visit the playground.

Emergency services respond to a potential stabbing on Clyde Road in Browns Bay on Auckland's North Shore. Photo / Hayden Woodward

An employee at a restaurant nearby said she heard screaming just an hour before it happened.

”I don’t care!” she heard a woman say. The employee said she had heard someone was stabbed in the neck.

A woman told the Herald she was walking her dog on the beach and had just come up onto the road when she stumbled across the scene.

”We came around the corner from Phoenix Place and saw a person lying on the ground with a few people around them and someone at the sushi shop holding the door.”

Police arrived a short time later armed with a taser and firearm. About four officers spoke with the man who was holding the door before entering the shop.

“I don’t know where the offender was but when police went in we heard a lot of banging and crashing. And they were there for quite some time.”

The woman said the injured woman was lying on the ground.

”I don’t know how they got injured but there was a lot of blood.

”I don’t think she was responsive but I did see some movement and things got quite frantic.

”A lot of rushing and sending people in different directions. It looked quite serious to me.”

The woman said several ambulances eventually arrived and began treating the victim.

She saw a “pretty distraught guy” assisting the victim.

”He was very upset. It was just horrible.”

The woman also noticed a helicopter overhead as the emergency response unfolded.

Emergency services respond to a potential stabbing on Clyde Road in Browns Bay on Auckland's North Shore. Photo / Hayden Woodward

Witnesses have posted about the incident on Facebook. One man said he was just across the road when it happened.

”It’s not something you expect to see in this country. I feel very heartbroken for the victim. It would have been extremely frightening.”

Another witness said the police had caught the offender after bystanders shut him inside the shop where the incident happened until officers arrived.

”It’s a horrifying scene down there.”

Another poster said that “police went in with guns to get him”.

Earlier a local business owner told the Herald she was on her way home at about 6pm when she saw three police cars speeding towards Browns Bay with their emergency lights on.

She said she got home and received a call from her staff saying they could see police officers outside the Starbucks store on Clyde Rd.

Police had blocked the road and were putting up yellow cordon tape.

She immediately instructed her staff to close the shop as a precaution while they awaited further information.

Auckland Transport said buses had been delayed or detoured on routes 83, 856, 865 and 878.