A Rotorua mum is calling for the police to better alert people when they're carrying out drills after she saw what she thought was police chasing a gunman around a school.
Police carried out a display at Rotorua Boys' High School on Friday but it worried residents nearby, who saw the action posted on Facebook as the drama unfolded. The posts caused some panic and a local kohanga reo to go into lockdown.
Katrina Heywood said the community should have been better informed of the drill. She was working in Wellington when she saw a friend's Facebook post that said police were chasing a gunman around the school.
"All people could see across the road was a gunman running around. I had friends freaking out and totally terrified."
She panicked as her son goes to kohanga across the road at Pipiwharauroa Kohanga Reo, on Mataatua St.