Whakaaratamaiti Marae chairman Justin Dick at 6.15pm told the Herald everyone on the marae itself was safe but they had been told to stay indoors by police.
A man who lives next to a marae on Domain Rd told the Herald a man had come onto his property at 4.45pm telling him that there was someone at the marae shooting people.
The man's report is unconfirmed by any officials. A police source told the Herald at 6pm they were treating the matter as "an active shooter".
After the man came and left from the property he called police at 4.45pm.
Police arrived shortly after to speak to him. He said he did not hear any shots but saw armed police officers headed towards the marae after 4pm.
A woman who said she was at the marae told Newstalk ZB at 5.45pm that all was quiet there and "she had not seen or heard anything".
A reporter at the scene said there were a lot of cars at the intersection of Domain Rd and SH1.
She said some were residents who were trying to get into the road but being blocked.
She saw three ambulances at the scene and about 40 police officers.
She said many of the police were in bullet proof vests.
More police cars are still arriving at the scene.
Police set up a road closure at the intersections of Harris Rd and Whites Rd and at Harris Rd and Domain Rd.
Police said in a press release they were called to the incident at 4.45pm.
"Officers, including AOS, are in the area making enquiries to establish exactly what has taken place.
"At this stage, no information has been confirmed."
Michael Flaws, from business Kiwi Lumber on Domain Rd, told 1 NEWS a person came onto the property claiming there were gunshots at a nearby marae.
"I personally didn't hear anything," he said.
"There are a carload of people at our gate and armed police have just arrived."
Kiwi Lumber timber machinist Paku Marurai was stopped at the cordon by police, who asked him if he had seen or heard of any shooting in the area.
He was prevented from travelling down Domain Rd because of reports of shots being fired in the area.
An ambulance spokesman said they were in attendance and were waiting at a "staging point until police have deemed the scene safe".
A police spokeswoman has said she can't confirm what the emergency is at this stage.
"All I can confirm is we are responding to an incident in Putaruru. We were called at 4.45pm."
A receptionist at Kiwi Lumber Ltd on Domain Rd said there was "definitely something going on" but they were in the dark.
"We can't see anything happening out the front of our place," she said.
A nervous staff member of a central Putaruru business says something is going on but she's not sure what.
She's seen police walking around.
More to come.
