Police statistics released today show 677 New Zealand children under the age of 16 were found to be carrying weapons in the first 10 months of last year.
During that same period 98 kids were found carrying a gun, five of them being under the age of 10.
Police have highlighted that these figures are fairly static between 2017-19 and aren’t growing.
Sunny Kaushal from the Crime Prevention Group, a representative for dairies, told TVNZ 1's Seven Sharp he's very concerned about the numbers.
"The children carrying the weapons in New Zealand is a very alarming situation," said Mr Kaushal.
"Most of the robberies are being done by the teenagers. It's very common that these teenagers entering into the dairies or shops with the weapons and they assault those shop owners or works without any negotiation."
Mr Kaushal said at the end of the day its all about parenting.
"As a parent I should know where my kids are and they should be in school, they should be learning or studying. They should not be on the streets," he said.
"If the parents are not accountable for the kids, who else is?"
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