A report of a "man with a rifle" in the Maraenui area on Wednesday was a false alarm, police say.
A police spokesman said they were notified at 11.28am. A spokesman said it was instead a "planned search warrant being conducted by police", with armed officers providing support.
It was "most likely" the sighting was a police officer with a gun, the spokesman said.
"We are in the area but no one has been located."
Police spoke to staff at Maraenui Bilingual School. A staff member said the alarm for lockdown had not been raised.