A young man killed on a service station forecourt in Whangārei had reportedly stepped in to help a woman being robbed at an ATM.

The 25-year-old’s final heroic act has been revealed as police launch a homicide investigation into the man’s death outside the doorway of Gull petrol station in Raumanga last night.

At 9.40pm, reports of an incident involving a group of people led police to the service station on Tauroa St and State Highway 1, near two busy food chain outlets - McDonald’s and KFC.

Police said the man died at the scene due to the injuries he suffered during the incident.

Gull remained cordoned off on Sunday morning with police stationed around the edges of the forecourt. A blue tent has been erected close to the service station entrance.

Family members could be seen gathering close to the tent, comforting one another. A few hours later, whānau posted a moving tribute online to the man - the eldest of five siblings and whose mother passed away in 2015.

They said it was with a “great deep sadness” that they had to announce his ‘tragic’ passing. They expressed the depths of their love and how much he will be missed.

An anonymous source, who arrived at Gull to meet a friend just before 10.30pm, has described the alleged events in the lead-up to the man’s death.

As he pulled into the service station, he noticed six police cars and that officers had begun to block the multiple entry points to the station.

A police cordon has sealed off entry to the Gull service station in Raumanga. Photo / Michael Cunningham

He parked his vehicle and went to look for his friend. He noticed a man’s body lying motionless near the entrance to Gull’s shop.

“I was thinking was this guy okay. There was no movement, no nothing.”

He saw no sign of blood.

Concerned, he went over to a group of men nearby to find out what had happened.

One of the men told him the man lying on the ground was dead, he had been stabbed.

He claimed the man had intervened in an alleged robbery.

A 26-year-old woman had reportedly been at the Westpac ATM on the outside wall of the Gull service station when a pair of men were alleged to have confronted her.

At some point, the 25-year-old is claimed to have noticed the woman’s plight and gone to her aid, a decision that ended with him becoming fatally injured.

The source and his friend eventually left, driving by a few hours later where they saw more police and a full cordon in place.

However, those at the service station were not the only ones to witness the fatal events unfold.

The Advocate understands a late-night car meet had taken place in the neighbouring Bunnings’ car park, which looks down on to the station forecourt.

The source said he saw “heaps of cars” there.

Some attendees had commented on Facebook, saying they had seen the entire incident take place. One person even reportedly posted a video of the violent clash on social media before swiftly removing it.

Vanya Viskovich, manager of McDonald’s restaurant directly across the road from Gull, said last night’s staff saw nothing except for a large number of police cars.

But a local shop worker told 1News he called the police after seeing “someone with a knife” as well as people running around acting “fishy”.

In a statement released earlier today, police said they were working to establish what exactly happened and to identify and locate the people who left the scene before officers arrived.

“We would like to hear from anyone who has information which could assist our enquiries, including any witnesses who have not yet spoken to us.”

They later launched a fresh appeal for images or videos that may assist their enquiries.

“If you were in the area of the Gull service station at around 9.30pm last night and have photos or videos which may be relevant, please upload them here: https://rusty-red.nc3.govt.nz/”

Anyone with information can contact police on 105 or online. Please reference file number 230416/9440.