KEY POINTS:
The Child Youth and Family (CYF) camp from which two 14-year-old boys accused of attempting to murder police absconded was closely supervised and several hours from anywhere by horseback, a CYF head says.
The boys were arrested after a dramatic stolen car chase through the Bay of Plenty
at the weekend during which shots were fired at police.
They appeared in Tauranga Youth Court today on charges of attempting to murder one of the police officers, burglary, aggravated burglary, unlawfully taking a motor vehicle, theft, failing to stop for police, reckless driving, aggravated assault and three charges each of using a firearm against police.
One of the pair was also charged with escaping custody.
CYF confirmed today the boys had been in their care and had absconded from a supervised camp.
CYF deputy chief executive Ray Smith told Radio New Zealand nobody could have anticipated what happened and the camp providers were devastated.
"I don't think anyone could have imagined that two 14-year-old boys could cause this much havoc."
The boys were on a bush programme of up to six months long, with ten young people on it, in the Ruatoki area, Mr Smith said.
"It's quite an isolated part of New Zealand that they're in, many hours by horseback to get in and out of this programme," he said.
"The idea is to take these boys into a different place to teach them some survival skills, some bushman skills, some horsemanship and to give them really another look at life."
The programme operated on a ratio of three boys to every staff member.
"The providers put a huge effort into ensuring boys can get the best out of it and it's fair to say they are devastated by what has happened here.
"People do this work because they really care about young people and they want the best for them."
The camp was continuing and CYF would be providing extra support for the providers.
"We don't want them to give up what they're doing. In many respects they're giving some of these boys a last chance."
The charges faced by the boys carry sentences of up to 14 years. They have been remanded in custody until July 17.
Police are hailing two Tauranga officers as heroes for ending the potentially deadly rampage as they dodged bullets while chasing the boys early yesterday morning.
The officers pursued the pair from the site of a burglary and came under fire from a .303 hunting rifle.
Police using tyre spikes later forced the Ford Falcon XR6 sports saloon to stop and then were shot at as the boys blasted bullets through the rear window of the stolen car.
The officers and a police dog disarmed and arrested the pair after a short struggle about 4.45am.
The drama began late on Saturday night when firearms were stolen from a property in Ruatoki, about 20km inland from Whakatane, and the two 14-year-olds made off on a horse they stole.
They rode for several kilometres before coming across another home, in Ruatoki Valley Rd. The occupants were asleep.
The boys broke in, pinched car keys and stole the Ford Falcon XR6 parked outside.
The incident angered people in the community, many of whom believe "these things happen only in Auckland".
"These things are unheard of in Ruatoki. They don't happen here unless the people are outsiders," a neighbour of the second burgled property said.
"They [the boys] probably had a bad upbringing but they're just lucky they didn't come into my house because I'm a hunter."
Shortly after the boys made off in the sports saloon, about $50 worth of petrol was stolen from a service station in Whakatane.
Later, in Te Puke, a security guard noticed the stolen car being driven down State Highway 2.
The guard rang Tauranga police and followed the vehicle to an orchard just outside town.
The 14-year-olds stayed there for a time, fleeing as a police car arrived from Tauranga.
From there a pursuit which police said was "high-speed at times" began.
As the boys entered a residential area of Mt Maunganui, they drove over the police road spikes.
They kept going for another 3km, although the spikes had flattened two tyres. When they stopped, one wheel was down to the metal rim.
As they drove through the streets, they fired shots from the stolen vehicle at the chasing police cars.
The 14-year-olds eventually came to a stop in Oceanbeach Rd, where one tried to steal a police car at gunpoint.
A resident the Herald spoke to said he was aware of a commotion outside his home but assumed the shouting and police sirens he heard at 4.45am were related to a noisy party that had been going on all night a few doors down.
The first of the two bullets fired during the chase shattered the rear windscreen of the stolen car.
"I'm not too sure where the shots landed," said Inspector Karl Wright St Clair of Tauranga police. "There was no evidence of our vehicles being damaged but there is evidence of damage to the suspects' vehicle."
Two bullet holes could be seen at the rear of the car yesterday.
Mr Wright St Clair said that once the stolen car came to a stop, the police staff acted "extremely bravely" as the rifle was pointed at them.
"Both officers were unarmed at the time and were placed in a position that required them to take immediate action which placed their own lives in danger."
The violent behaviour of the teenagers had resembled something out of an American-style video game, Mr Wright St Clair said.
"The officers are very shaken up and we are assisting them at the moment under the trauma policy we have in place," he said.
A police dog and seven officers, including the first two constables at the scene, were involved in apprehending the boys.
Mr Wright St Clair would not say if the police found drugs or alcohol.
He said the efforts of his staff were "nothing short of heroic."
The teenagers face a variety of charges today including three of using a firearm against a police officer, attempted murder of a police officer, reckless driving, aggravated assault, failing to stop, theft of petrol, aggravated burglary, burglary, and escaping police custody.
The last charge is from an earlier, unrelated incident.
- with NZPA
