Police shooting: Armed person critical – shot by officers after pursuit through Auckland

An armed person has been shot by police after a vehicle pursuit spanning several suburbs in Auckland this morning.

Shocked residents saw a man who had been shot by police clutching his blood-covered chest after a dramatic 20km pursuit through multiple Auckland suburbs.

A Lilac Grove resident and her family videoed the scene this morning as six police and St John Ambulance staff carried a man wearing red shorts on a stretcher up a driveway.

“You definitely can see a bit of blood on his chest area, under his armpit area and also on his hands.

“He looked like he was alive and still kind of moving but he definitely was injured.”

Acting District Commander Inspector Matt Srhoj this afternoon spoke to media about what happened.

Before 8.30am today, two police officers tried to stop a vehicle that reversed into their car and drove off, Srhoj said.

The Eagle helicopter monitored the car, which drove at speed in Otahuhu, Mangere and Papatoetoe areas. Spikes were deployed, the vehicle went to a Otahuhu address and stopped, and a man got out with gun, he said.

The man then got back in and the car drove off. On the motorway, the driver stopped and got out. He jumped into another vehicle waiting for him on the motorway.

A person in the second car aimed a firearm at police and a member of the public.

The car was spiked in Ellerslie and drove towards Hillsborough, and the person with a gun was pointing it at people, Srhoj said.

The driver fled to an area of bush and the passenger presented a firearm at police.

Police fired at the man. He is now in a serious but stable condition in hospital.

The driver was taken into custody and then to hospital with minor injuries.

Police were appealing for witnesses to today’s event, especially if they had video footage, Srhoj said.

An investigation into the event was under way, Srhoj confirmed.

He could confirm a firearm was located in the car dumped on the motorway, and another firearm was found at the Lilac Grove scene.

He commended staff for their “courageous” actions.

“Staff come to work … to help keep our communities safe,” he said.

“This was an incredibly fast-moving situation where these men’s behaviour have put members of the public at risk.”

No-one else is being sought in relation to the incident, but police will speak to neighbours for information and reassurance.

The men are known to police, he said.

Srhoj would not confirm if either man was on bail or involved in gangs.

He said it appeared things had been co-ordinated after the vehicle was spiked.

“The public were hugely at risk,” he said. “Our staff needed to put this matter to an end.”

Police officers know risk is part of their job, he said.

If there is an immediate risk to staff, there is an opportunity to arm staff. On this occasion the incident was contained, he said.

He would not confirm if the man fired shots.

“Of course it’s concerning … It’s a terrible incident to happen in their street,” Srhoj said of nearby residents.

He was unaware of the Covid status of either man.

In a video after the shooting, the injured man is seen being lifted into the back of the ambulance.

The morning’s pursuit began in Otahuhu before stretching up to near Greenlane and ending in Hillsborough.

The resident, who didn’t want to be named, said she was working from home when she began hearing sirens.

Given Lilac Grove is a quiet, dead-end street, “where nothing really happens”, she expected the sounds to wane.

Instead, it only intensified and soon there were multiple police cars and St John Ambulance staff in the street.

Police swarmed down a driveway to follow a vehicle.

“It was just a lot of cops, so many cops, carrying their guns running down to the driveway where I think the car went.

Armed police and media gather at the scene. Photo / Dean Purcell

“I heard a bang and thought something had fallen over but I think it was the car that was escaping and hit the driveway of the curb when they were going down the drive.

“My dad heard gunshots, I think five, something like that.”

They saw one man being carried out on the stretcher, while the other went through bush which took him to another street.

“I heard something that sounded like firecrackers, it could have been gunshots, three of them,” Hillsborough resident Joseph told the Herald.

Joseph saw one man being put into the back of a black police car and a mask put on his face. He sat there for 15 to 20 minutes before more police cars came and they all left together.

He said a large police presence is still swarming Carlton St and Frederick St.

The incident kicked off in Otahuhu just before 9am and carried on through to Greenlane and over to Hillsborough among peak our traffic, bewildering motorists and even builders working on site.

Residents also reported hearing gunshots or the police pursuit itself which stretched for more than an hour and has left one person in a critical condition.

The car eventually came to a haphazard stop on Lilac Grove in Hillsborough, where a person was shot.

A second person from the fleeing vehicle was arrested in Rendcomb Place.

Locals have been told that there is a currently a heightened police presence in the area, including in Carlton St and Frederick St.

Police advised residents there would be a heightened police presence in the area due to what happened.

However, there weren’t seeking anyone else.

A St John spokesperson said they were called to Hillsborough at 9.03am and soon after took one person to Auckland City Hospital in a critical condition. Another person was treated for minor injuries at the scene.

‘THEY WERE DUCKING IN THEIR CAR AS POLICE CHASED THEM’

As the action was unfolding, a man working on a building site in Hillsborough told the Herald that police appeared to be pursuing a car.

Police arrest a man on Lilac Grove.

He watched as a patrol car arrived at an intersection and an officer got out of the vehicle.

The vehicle police were seeking then appeared and the officer drew his gun and aimed it at the car.

“Police had their guns pointed at the two people,” the man said. “I could see the people ducking in their car as they were being chased.

“There’s a s*** load of cops here and they’ve blocked access to the road.”

A resident in the nearby suburb of Ellerslie said he heard gunshots about 8.55am followed by sirens and the police helicopter near the intersection of Great South Rd and Rockfield Rd.

Another resident said they heard five gun shots and what sounded like a car chase.

A resident living near the corner of Great South and Rockfield Rds said they heard what sounded like three loud gun shots and a speeding car passing by at about 8.55am.

St John Ambulance staff wore protective vests at the scene in Hillsborough. Photo / Laura Beattie

“It sounded like a car was driving extremely fast, you could hear there was a lot of revving,” the man said.

“Then there was heaps of sirens that followed throughout the next five minutes, and then the police helicopter wasn’t far behind that either.”

The man, who had been working from home at the time, said it sounded like a police pursuit.

Shocked Hillsborough residents also watched on as police car after police car, stormed into Lilac Grove, followed by St John – with staff wearing armed vests – and eventually an Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust chopper which was seen circling above.

A resident in Rendcomb Place saw police officers arrest a man at the bottom of the dead-end street.

After hearing sirens he came outside this morning to find the front of his house blocked off and armed police officers standing nearby.

Two helicopters were circling above.

VIDEO FOOTAGE

Video of the pursuit shows a black Holden making a fast right-hand turn through an Auckland intersection with traffic banked up at the traffic lights.

The car’s rear wheels can be seen snaking out during the turn as three police cars follow close behind.

A fourth police car then joins the chase.

At least a dozen other cars driven by members of the public are pulled up at the intersection as the pursuit sweeps through.