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Home / New Zealand

Four school lockdown in West Auckland: BB gun behind lockdown, armed police swarm area

Luke Kirkness
By Luke Kirkness
Sport Planning Editor·NZ Herald·
5 Nov, 2020 01:34 AM3 mins to read

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Parents wait to pick up their children at St Leonards Rd School. Photo / Dean Purcell

Parents wait to pick up their children at St Leonards Rd School. Photo / Dean Purcell

A BB gun is the reason armed police swarmed Kelston in West Auckland earlier this week and forced four schools to go into lockdown.

Kelston Boys High School, Kelston Girls College, Kelston Intermediate School, and St Leonards Rd School went into lockdown on Tuesday afternoon.

Police received a report about a person's wellbeing and officers responded by searching the area carrying firearms as a precaution.

The schools went into lockdown just after 2pm and were let out around 3.30pm. Police later found the person involved and spoke with them.

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"Police initially had information that there were concerns for a person's welfare near Kelston and a firearm may have been involved," Acting Area Commander for Waitematā West Inspector John Thornley says.

"Police located the subject of this report, a BB gun has been located and the matter has been referred to Youth Aid.

Parents wait to pick up their children at St Leonards Rd School. Photo / Dean Purcell
Parents wait to pick up their children at St Leonards Rd School. Photo / Dean Purcell

"Schools around the Kelston area went into lockdown as a precautionary measure given the nature of the report to ensure everyone's safety.

"We would like to acknowledge the cooperation of our schools and community while we carried out our inquiries in the Kelston area."

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At the time of the incident, a short video clip posted on Facebook appeared to show an armed police officer walking on Archibald Rd.

On Tuesday, Kelston Girls College Principal Sarah Stenson told the Herald they ran drills often so they were able to swing into action quickly.

"People were calm and managed the whole situation really well. Training really pays off in these situations. I was proud of the way everyone responded."

Inspector Thornley says police have visited the affected schools and would continue to engage with them going forward.

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The incident came a day after Massey's Lincoln Heights School went into lockdown after a firearms incident.

Armed police flooded the West Auckland suburb after a firearm was reportedly discharged on Keegan Drive, Massey just before midday on Monday.

Members of the armed offenders squad responded and two people were taken into custody. There were no reports of injuries at the Massey property.

"Police are still working to ascertain the full set of circumstances of the earlier incident and these inquiries will be ongoing," police said in a statement.

Four schools in Kelston were forced to lock down and armed police swarmed the area. Photo / Michael Craig
Four schools in Kelston were forced to lock down and armed police swarmed the area. Photo / Michael Craig

About 2am another incident occurred outside a property on the same street. Police say initial indications show about eight shots were fired at parked vehicles.

No people were found at the property and there were no reports of injuries.

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"This will ... no doubt be concerning to the families living nearby and the wider community," Detective Senior Sergeant Megan Goldie said yesterday.

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