A 43-year-old man sparked an armed police call-out in Napier on Sunday night after letting off several blank rounds from a firearm.
The incident began just after 8pm when residents in the Ryan Cres, Greenmeadows, reported hearing what sounded like gunshots.
One resident told Hawke's Bay Today she heard about five shots.
"Then approximately 15 to 20 minutes later we had armed police outside our street screaming at the guy to get down."
She said it appeared some officers had drawn their firearms.
District Command Centre Sergeant Ross Smith said alcohol was involved and the man was not co-operative with police when they arrived.
He was eventually handcuffed and taken away. Mr Smith said the man was facing several firearms charges.
He said it was not known at this stage what sparked the man into firing the blanks.