A man allegedly pointed firearms at police and the public multiple times before being shot by officers this morning, the police say.
Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi
Police said in a statement that before 8:30am today, two units attempted to stop a suspicious vehicle near Ōtāhuhu.
The vehicle reversed into a police vehicle and drove off.
After a pursuit that involved police helicopters the suspect drove the wrong way down an on-ramp onto the Southern Motorway, then reportedly stopped and got into a second vehicle waiting parked on the motorway and fled again.
Police continued to pursue the suspect, and during the pursuit through the Ellerslie and Onehunga area, the passenger allegedly presented a firearm towards both police and passing members of the public.
Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi
The vehicle drove down a long driveway in the Hillsborough area, where the driver and passenger both fled.
The passenger exited the vehicle allegedly aiming a firearm towards police, and he was shot after a short pursuit.
The suspect was taken to Auckland City Hospital where he is currently in a stable condition. The vehicle driver was also located and taken into custody. He has also been taken to Auckland City Hospital with minor injuries.
Earlier, a woman who works in the area said she could also hear a helicopter above the area.
Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi
An RNZ employee said the police Eagle helicopter and the Westpac helicopter were hovering over Hillsborough.
Hillsborough resident Jordan Harris said it was an intense situation with a lot of armed police on the street.
"I've never seen a helicopter so low around here before - he was over above the water and the noise was almost deafening while he was that low.
"They were talking about him trying to land or getting the Westpac choppers to land for an extraction so that was all pretty nailbiting."
Police are appealing for witnesses to the events to come forward and assist enquiries, especially if they have video footage. An online portal has been set for the public to upload footage.
Police confirmed that a firearm has also been located inside the vehicle that was dumped on the southern motorway and another firearm was located at the Lilac Grove scene.
Police expect charges to be laid at a later stage. As is standard procedure in these cases, police have also notified the Independent Police Conduct Authority.