Friends and locals have been left shaken after a woman was shot dead by police in Christchurch last night, while another man was critically injured.
Police were called to a residential address in Clyde Rd, Bryndwr at around 11pm after receiving a report of a man armed with a knife, threatening to hurt himself and his partner.
“Officers arrived at the address a short time later and a woman ran from the house, followed by a man armed with a knife,” Canterbury District Commander, Superintendent Tony Hill said this morning.
“Believing the woman to be at risk of imminent serious harm, police shot the man, critically injuring him.
“The woman subsequently picked up the knife and threatened police.
“Officers appealed for her to put the weapon down, but she instead moved forward. She was also shot, sustaining critical injuries.
“Immediate medical assistance was provided to the woman but tragically she passed away a short time later.”
The injured man was transported to hospital, where he remains in a critical condition.
Multiple police cars and ambulances have been at a property on Clyde Rd, near Hollyford Ave, since about 11pm.
Detectives are also there, with their attention focused on a rear unit, in a block of three, which has been blocked off by police tape.
Clyde Rd locals spoken to by NZME this morning are shaken up by the tragic events of last night.
A good friend of the woman said she had been in a relationship with the man for about five years.
“They had their troubles,” Nathan Light told the Herald.
“They were off and on fighting, arguing with each other (and) sorting their lives out.”
Light said he met the couple at a local church and the man was intending to “get baptised in a couple of weeks”.
He said they were eager to beat their demons and had been “ditching all their old associates”.
He said they were “doing good”.
“They had a couple of slip-ups… it’s inevitable,” Light said.
“My partner went and seen them last night. I was gonna go and see them too, but I was too tired. She said that they seemed to be OK.”
He said “a couple of days prior” the woman had called at midnight “begging us to come down and help”.
Light was at the house talking to the man until 2am.
His partner told him last night the man was still in “his weird head space”.
“This morning I wake up, scroll Facebook… I f***ing just knew straight away when they said Clyde Rd… my gut was like, bro, that’s [his friends].
“And then I saw the photo and I was like that’s their f***ing house and that’s their fence… oh no… so I ran from home.”
Two local women questioned why such force was used in the incident.
“I heard the two ‘boom, boom!’ [sounds] and I rung the cops and told them,” one woman said.
“I don’t understand why they shot at her bro, she picked up a f****** knife. It was a domestic violence callout.
“She’s a f****** female bro, why don’t you shoot her in the leg?”
Another added: “Why aren’t they tasering them? That’s shoot to kill, that’s not good. They were good people. I saw them walking their dogs every day. They’re quiet people.”
A source said police had been to the address “loads of times” for reports of family harm and other incidents.
The woman was well known to domestic violence support services and was deemed “a high-risk client”.
Another neighbour said she had heard the couple arguing at the house in the past.
She was aware that police had been to the house before and said there were often parties.
The woman says she heard the gunshots last night, and afterwards, dogs barking and sirens.
A Herald photographer on the scene last night said they saw armed police as well as someone being taken away by an ambulance.
“Scene guards are in place at the Clyde Rd property, and nearby residents can expect to see a continued police presence in the coming days. A portion of the road will be closed,” Hill said.
“We have spoken to next of kin, and our thoughts are with the family of those involved at this incredibly difficult time.
“This was a distressing incident for the attending officers, and the appropriate support is being provided to them.”
A critical incident investigation is under way, and it will also be referred to the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA), which is standard for any incident involving a police shooting.
According to property records, the units, which are across the road from a playground, are owned by Kāinga Ora.
