A group of armed fugitives are being hunted in a major police operation in the central North Island.
Three men and "around" two women are on the run after ramming a pursuing police car, shooting at the two occupants at close range then fleeing in the police vehicle.
One of the prime suspects is Dolphy Kohu, who in 2013 was jailed for firing a shotgun at a Wanganui family the year before. He was caught after six weeks on the run.
Police cordons are in place. The Armed Offenders Squad has been deployed, with aerial support from Auckland's Eagle helicopter.
It's understood that all officers have been told they should not be alone or unarmed.
The drama began about 2.30am today when two officers got involved in a pursuit near Wanganui.
The car they were chasing rammed the police car near Ohakune about 3.30am. One of the people in the car fired twice at the officers. The group then drove off in the police car, which has since been recovered.
Police warn the suspects are considered armed and dangerous and should not be approached. Locals should consider staying indoors and parents should consider keeping their children home from schools in the Ohakune, Waiouru and Raetihi region.
The officers who were shot at are shaken but are unhurt.
An employee at the Raetihi Caltex petrol station said the town was swarming with police earlier this morning.
"You wouldn't be able to sneak into town or out of town."
She understood the police car was found on a back road east of the township.
It's thought police believe the fugitives are no longer in Raetihi.
Kohu was 21 when he was jailed in 2013 for 30 months for shooting at a Whanganui family who accused him of being a prowler.
He aimed a shotgun at a group of people standing outside a house and fired twice.
One victim was left with shotgun pellets embedded in his skin; two others were struck by pellets, although their clothing deflected them.
Kohu fired a final shot skyward and took off, evading police for about six weeks before he was arrested in Wellington.
He was on parole when the offending took place, having been imprisoned for three years in 2008 for the aggravated robbery of a Whanganui dairy.
The sentencing judge said brandishing and discharging a firearm in a public place needed to be met by a stern response from the courts, "even more so when it's pointed directly at people".
- NZME.