Coles has apologised and removed a Halloween display featuring fake blood-covered knives from its Sandy Bay store, days after a fatal stabbing on the Hobart waterfront left a young man dead.
A distressed customer contacted Pulse, describing the display as deeply insensitive given Saturday night’s tragedy had occurred just kilometres away.
The display, which showed imitation bloodied knives hanging from a counter at the store’s entrance, was taken down within an hour of Pulse bringing shoppers’ concerns to the supermarket group.
“The Halloween display in question was never intended to cause distress and we apologise for the oversight,” a Coles spokesperson said.
“As soon as we became aware of the concerns, our team at the store promptly removed it.”
The supermarket giant said it was deeply saddened by the waterfront incident and would ensure similar Halloween displays weren’t used again.
A 17-year-old male, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has been charged with murder, wounding and assault over the alleged attack in the Morrison Street car park on Saturday night.
The incident left a 20-year-old dead and a 23-year-old man with non-life-threatening injuries.
The alleged offender has been remanded in custody until his next court appearance via video link on November 19.
