“I was in panic mode,” he said, not knowing whether the gun was real or fake.
He drove away but noticed the other car was following him at speed.
“My heart was pumping, I was like, what to do next? With that panic mode I just accelerated.”
Kirpal overtook another car and made a dangerous turn at a busy intersection in an effort to put distance between their cars.
His wife, who was in the back seat and had not seen the gun “was shouting ‘slow down’”, and Kirpal told her to call 111 as he continued trying to lose the other driver.
“This guy was a maniac, he was holding a gun and driving.
“I just accelerated, 80-100, I didn’t care.”
Kirpal made several left turns but still noticed the car was following. In his desperation, he ran a red light, after which he did not see the other car.
He drove to the Counties Manukau Police Station, parked and rushed inside asking to speak to an officer urgently, but said the front counter staff were asking him for his name and other details first.
“I’m an Indian, I think it’s a racist thing going on,” he said.
“Let’s say a white person goes in and said ‘I have seen a gun’, do you think they will ask stupid questions?”
He said police did not take a formal statement except to ask him some basic details about the incident. He then asked them to drive him and his family home as he was fearful of the other driver, who could have taken down his number plate details.
A day or two later, still in fear after the incident, Kirpal woke to see an envelope lying on his neighbour’s doorstep. He contacted the police, anxious it was a message from the other driver. It turned out to be his neighbour’s bank statement.
His fearful behaviour prompted police to take out a safety order against him, requiring him to stay away from his home and family for the duration of the order.
“They thought I was getting crazy, I was on drugs, I was on some medication, high,” said Kirpal, who said he doesn’t do drugs or drink alcohol.
He said police were concerned he was a danger to his family because of his panicked state, but he was simply dealing with trauma.
“In my son’s eyes I’m a hero, but with police, I’m a villain.”
A police spokeswoman told the Herald they received a complaint about a firearms incident on Carruth Rd in Papatoetoe on January 4.
“Extensive inquiries were conducted, but no vehicle, persons or firearms matching the victim’s description were located,” she said.
“The matter has been filed, pending further lines of inquiry.”
