Man charged with threatening to kill after Hastings firearm incident

The arrested man is led away to a nearby police car in Duke St. Photo / Paul Taylor

A man has been charged with threatening to kill and presenting a restricted weapon after allegedly being spotted with a firearm in Hastings on Thursday evening.

Police were called about 4.30pm on Thursday after receiving a report of a person in possession of a firearm at an address on Tomoana Rd, Hastings.

A man was arrested after armed police cordoned off a section of the road near Cornwall Park, as cricketers attended practice and children played nearby.

The arrested man is led away to a nearby police car in Duke St. Photo / Paul Taylor

A 31-year-old man has since been charged with threatening to kill and presenting an object like a firearm or restricted weapon.

Police said the firearm in question is not believed to be authentic.

The man is due to appear in Hastings District Court on Saturday.

Minutes before the man was arrested about 5.05pm, witnesses believed another man yelled he had a replica firearm and ''it's not me'', before placing the firearm slowly on the road near the arrest scene.

Police arrested a man at Taser-point, in the presence of an armed officer. Photo / Paul Taylor

The man who placed the firearm on the road was not arrested, police confirmed.

"He was shouting 'it's not me, it's not me'. He was shouting 'it's a replica','' a witness claimed.

Armed police set up cordons in the area after reports that a firearm had been presented during a tenancy dispute.

Armed police keep watch over the cordoned street, as they are watched by passers-by. Photo / Paul Taylor

A section of Tomoana Rd, south of Duke St, near Cornwall Park, was cordoned off.

A woman could be heard shouting and screaming before the arrest was made, but passers-by near the scene were oblivious to the armed police action.

The arrested man lowered himself to the ground, in the presence of a police officer armed with a rifle and another officer holding a Taser.

Cordons were lifted about 5.25pm.