Police at the scene in Tikipunga where an alleged gunman has fled on foot.
Video / Jayden Jameson
A manhunt for an alleged gunman triggered in Tikipunga and which later shifted to Kamo disturbed the two Whangārei suburbs this afternoon.
Police swarmed the carpark outside Countdown Tikipunga during an incident involving the alleged gunman where half a dozen cars were reportedly "smashed to pieces".
On Thursday night, DistrictCommander Northland Police Superintendent Tony Hill said police allegedly observed David Johnstone in the carpark of a business premises in Tikipunga.
When Johnstone failed to stop for police when signalled, armed officers employed "tactical options".
"Mr Johnstone fled in a vehicle which he crashed in to other vehicles in the carpark and came to a stop upon crashing into a vehicle on Paramount Parade," Hill alleged.
People near the supermarket at the time claimed a vehicle was rammed by a car before the driver fled on foot about 4pm. They believed the man had a gun of some sort.
A witness described seeing a damaged red and black car in the middle of Paramount Pde which was closed to northbound traffic for a short period of time.
The police Eagle helicopter from Auckland has been spotted in the sky above Tikipunga. Photo / NZME
A second damaged vehicle - a white Volkswagen - was in the carpark in front of Countdown Tikipunga. The witness said the front of the vehicle was "smashed".
A bystander told the Advocate they first heard skids and vehicles crashing.
"... then the gunshots followed. I looked out the window and saw a black truck with a man jumping in wearing a bulletproof vest and holding a gun, then we were told to move away from the area."
Nick from the Butcher Shoppe at Paramount Plaza said there were roughly half a dozen cars in the Countdown carpark "that have been smashed to pieces".
"He's driven past our shop out to the main road and crashed his car and done a runner on foot."
Nick said he didn't see a gun so was unable to say whether the man had been armed.
The police Eagle helicopter from Auckland joined the search for the man as members of the armed offenders squad (AOS) closed in on Hawea Place in Tikipunga.
Members of the armed offenders squad on Hawea Place, near Manapouri St in Tikipunga. Photo / NZME
Armed police were stationed at both ends of Manapouri St as the police chopper circled over head.
Their search in the suburb proved fruitless as AOS soon left the scene to follow a new trail less than 3km away in Kamo.
Johnstone then fled the scene on foot and his whereabouts is currently unknown,
Hill said no police or members of the public were injured.
Reporter Martha and friends are in Minginui introducing us to their favourite four-legged neighbours, wild but friendly horses that have had free reign of the place since 1870.
