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New Zealand man with rod stuck in head remains astonishingly calm

New Zealand man with rod stuck in head remains astonishingly calm

This video is not for the faint of heart.

What first appeared to be a gruesome stunt was actually a serious injury: A man walked into a gas station in Bay of Plenty, New Zealand with a metal rod sticking out of his head.

"I was like, ‘Man is this a TV show? Is this guy for real?’" Katikati Caltex owner Lester Gray told 3 News. “It looked like a Halloween stunt where people wear those Halloween costumes over their heads, but it was pretty real when he turned around and blood was coming down the side of his head.”

Adam Armitage, 23, had been allegedly attacked by strangers who approached him while he was sitting in his parked car in a suburban Katikati neighbourhood about four blocks away.

According to police, Armitage was repeatedly punched in the face, then hit with the steel rod.

Armitage was able to drive to the gas station to get help.

What caught witnesses off-guard was Armitage’s apparent nonchalance — likely shock — as he walked in, holding up the rod so it wouldn’t move.

"He just walked in with the rod in his head and I was just like, ‘Is that a drum stick in your head?’" recalled witness Dylan Shea. “And he was like, ‘Nah, it’s a rod.’”

"The sharp part of the tyre iron was in his temple," Shea added. “He’s real lucky, lucky that it didn’t go any deeper.”

According to witnesses at the gas station, Armitage remained calm and he asked staff to phone police.

CCTV footage then shows him sitting down, patiently waiting for help to arrive.

Some customers took photos of the injury and showed them to Armitage, who hadn’t yet seen the severity of the injury.

"He was pretty calm," said Shea. “He wasn’t freaking out or anything. He knew what had gone wrong and he said he knew his first-aid and that, so he didn’t try to rip it out or anything.”

Armitage was rushed to Tauranga Hospital, where he had the rod removed. He was then airlifted to Waikato Hospital, where he remains in serious but stable condition.

Police are continuing to investigate the attack.

Gray told the Bay of Plenty Times that Artimage was lucky that the gas station was open. Most other businesses in the area were closed for the night.

"I guess he’s going to live because of it."